FRESNO - Early on the morning of December 17, 2018 the Fresno Police Department received a 911 call regarding a single vehicle traffic collision at the intersection of Third/ Mono. Officers arrived and discovered 25 year old Steven Anthony Banda of Fresno in the back seat of the vehicle suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Banda was transported to CRMC where he was pronounced deceased hours later.
Homicide Unit Detectives Manny Romero and Loren Kasten responded to the scene and took over the investigation. Detectives later discovered that Banda was shot in the area of Butler/ Third in Southeast Fresno. Detectives worked diligently on the case and were able to identify 24 year old Matthew Gonzales as the person responsible for the murder of Steven Banda. A Ramey Warrant was issued for Gonzales’s arrest on Thursday, December 27, 2018.
On Friday, December 28, 2018, the Fresno Police Department’s Street Violence Bureau Tactical Team received information that Gonzales was in Norwalk, California. Tactical Team Detectives and Homicide Detectives traveled to Norwalk and coordinated their search efforts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office. Gonzales was spotted by detectives at a hotel in Norwalk and apprehended by LASO without incident. Gonzales was transported back to Fresno and booked for murder at the Fresno County Jail on Monday, December 31st.
Matthew Gonzales is a validated Lewis Street Bulldog gang member with an extensive criminal history. The murder of Steven Banda was an isolated incident but the motive is believed to be gang related. This complex investigation entailed several interviews and the issuance and service of ten search warrants.
This investigation was able to come to a successful ending because of the collaborative efforts with the M.A.G.E.C. Unit, Fresno County District Attorney’s Investigative Unit, Fresno County Adult Compliance Team, and the Fresno Police Department’s Street Violence Bureau.
This was the City’s thirty-second murder of the year and the last murder of 2018.
