Santa Maria man found shot, killed in car parked near farm fields. Police are investigating

A 61-year-old man was found dead in a vehicle on Saturday morning at the western edge of Santa Maria in what police have labeled a homicide.

Officers were dispatched at 10:20 a.m. to a report of a person with gunshot wounds near the intersection of West Main Street and Hanson Way, Santa Maria police Lt. Russ Mengel said Saturday night.

“When officers arrived, they found the sole occupant of a vehicle parked on the side of the road had been shot and was dead,” Mengel said.

The sedan was parked on the dirt shoulder near farm fields and agriculture-related businesses in the area.

The identity of the Santa Maria man will be released after family members have been notified, police said.

“The early investigation determined the shooting had occurred hours before, and several parties had heard the gunshots but no one had called to report the shooting,” Mengel added.

Anyone with information about the incident can call Santa Maria police Sgt. Todd Logan at 805-928-3781, ext. 2532.

It’s the third homicide of 2022 within the city, police added.

In early February, a 17-year-old was fatally wounded in a shooting at the city-owned parking structure near the Santa Maria Town Center. A woman also was injured in the incident.

In March, a 19-year-old was killed in a shooting in a parking lot at a convenience store on the 1900 block of South Broadway.