Leonardo Zavala-Herrera, a 40-year-old Hispanic man from Santa Fe, was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head on September 7, 2025, after officers following up on an investigation entered a residence on the 1100 block of Lopez Street near Bicentennial Park. Court records and reporting tie the fatal shooting to a violent dispute that broke out inside the small home on September 6, 2025.

Detectives quickly traced an SUV believed connected to the killing to the area of Rufina Street and Siler Road. When officers tried to stop the vehicle, the driver fled, prompting a city street pursuit that ended with the driver taken into custody. Police publicly connected that arrest and chase to the Lopez Street scene while withholding many investigative details.

Investigators identified 37-year-old Abel Maez as the prime suspect, booking him initially on aggravated fleeing and resisting charges. Prosecutors later filed murder charges in the Lopez Street killing but then dismissed those charges without prejudice, saying they could still present the case to a grand jury. The shooting has been linked in statements and memorial pages to Zavala-Herrera and the turbulent love-triangle dispute investigators say preceded the violence.

Did anyone in the area see the SUV near Rufina Street and Siler Road on the day of the shooting or know more about the relationships involved?