On the night of August 30, 2022, 34-year-old Lost Hills resident Ulises Avilez was shot and killed around 11 p.m. in the 14000 block of Lamberson Avenue. Deputies found Avilez with multiple gunshot wounds and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Another man, Gerardo Junior Gonzalez, was also shot and airlifted in critical condition; he later died of his injuries a month after the shooting.

Authorities say the shooting followed a confrontation involving Avilez, Gonzalez and a suspect identified as 30-year-old Marco Antonio Aldaco Jr. Aldaco was arrested the next morning in Wasco and charged with homicide, attempted homicide and weapons violations after investigators say he fired an unregistered ghost gun. Investigators recovered 27 spent casings at the scene. Aldaco reportedly told officers he believed the men were armed; no weapons were found on Avilez or Gonzalez. A woman who was with Aldaco told investigators she felt threatened by Avilez and suspected he might be hiding a weapon, though she did not see one.

Aldaco faced multiple charges including second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and being a felon in possession of a firearm; a preliminary hearing was scheduled for February 7, 2023. If anyone has information about the shooting or the people involved, please share what is known.