Santa Maria Man Sentenced to Fifty Years to Life in State Prison for Murder

Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch announced that Alfredo Junior Alaniz, a 25-year-old resident of Santa Maria, was sentenced to fifty years to life in  the state prison for the murder of Mario Merino Gonzalez on May 16, 2021. 

On December 11, 2025, a jury found Alaniz guilty of First-Degree Murder. The jury also found true the special  allegations that he committed the murder for the benefit of a criminal street gang, and that he personally used  a firearm and personally discharged a firearm causing death. 

On March 4, 2026, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Kristy Imel sentenced Alaniz to two  consecutive sentences of twenty-five years to life for the murder and the firearm enhancement, for an aggregate  term of fifty years to life in the state prison. 

In the early morning hours of May 16, 2021, Alfredo Alaniz, a Santa Maria gang member, shot Mario Merino  Gonzalez 16 times, 15 times in the back, on North Lincoln Street in Santa Maria. At the time of his death,  Mario Merino Gonzalez was 19 years old. 

District Attorney John T. Savrnoch stated: “This case involved the senseless and brutal killing of a young man,  and the loss his family suffered was profound. I am grateful to the jury for their service, and to the prosecution  team led by Deputy District Attorney Nicholas Harmon for their commitment to seeing justice done. I also  want to thank the Santa Maria Police Department for their tireless work in investigating this case, especially  Santa Maria Police Detectives Ryan Preast and Joshua Yee.”