LAMONT, Calif. (KGET) — On July 6, 2018, two men pulled up to Sam’s Market in Lamont on a beer run. The shop sits on the corner of Paradise Road and Waco Avenue in Lamont.
The men barely parked before a black SUV pulled up, and gunfire erupted. The vehicle drove off, leaving Simon Prieto and Carlos Gomez fatally wounded. Neither made it to a hospital.
3 years to the date, Prieto’s family gathered gathered at the market to remember them, while still urging people to speak up if they know anything about the shooting.
“We have no answers,” said Diorica Prieto, Simon’s wife. The night of the shooting, she and his in-laws ran to the market when they heard the gunshots. Gomez died in the car, and Prieto saw her husband die on the street.
Prieto, 27 when he was killed, has four children. His friend Gomez was only 21. Diorica Prieto says no one has given them any tips about why he may have been targeted. There were witnesses there, but Prieto says none have come forward. The only information about the suspects is that two young men were in the SUV.
Prieto wants the unnamed gunman to do the right thing.
“Give us the peace of mind, turn yourself in,” she said. “You’re not only putting my kids through pain, but my in-laws in pain. They want answers on why their son was taken.”
“I understand if you’re scared, but be a man.”
Silver and black balloons were released in Simon’s memory — Raiders’ colors, his favorite football team.
Anyone with information on their case stay completely anonymous by calling Kern Secret Witness at (661) 322-4040.
