Police say the suspect fled, changed vehicles and was arrested near the Dinuba Police Department.

DINUBA, Calif. — A Reedley man accused of killing his ex-wife and her boyfriend in a Dinuba driveway has pleaded not guilty to two murder counts after police said a confrontation ended in gunfire.

Miguel Angel Saldana, 43, is being held without bail in Tulare County after the April 21 shooting deaths of Irai Torres, 39, and Jose Medina, 51. Prosecutors say the case carries special allegations that could expose Saldana to life in prison or the death penalty if he is convicted. Police have described the shooting as a domestic-related killing tied to anger and a past relationship.

Officers were sent to a home in the 1200 block of Brent Avenue shortly after 5 p.m. after several people called 911 to report gunfire. Dinuba Police Chief Abel Iriarte said officers arrived and found a man and a woman on the driveway with multiple gunshot wounds. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Iriarte said investigators believe Saldana had gone to the home, shot Torres and Medina, then fled in a white Toyota truck. Police said Torres was Saldana’s ex-wife and shared at least one child with him. “He lost his temper,” Iriarte said in describing what investigators believe led to the violence.

The first hours of the case moved quickly across city lines. Police said Saldana left Dinuba and went to Reedley, where he lived. Investigators said he changed vehicles there before returning to Dinuba. Officers and detectives worked with the Reedley Police Department to track the white truck and the second vehicle. A surveillance team followed the suspect back into Dinuba, where officers arrested him near the police station. Body-camera video from the arrest showed Saldana calm and compliant as officers took him into custody. Authorities said they did not know whether he had returned to the station to surrender or for another reason.

Police said they recovered both vehicles tied to the case and believed they had also recovered the gun used in the shooting. Search warrants were served at Saldana’s Reedley residence as detectives continued to gather evidence. Officials have not released a full account of what was said or done immediately before the shooting. They also have not said whether Torres, Medina or anyone else at the home had called police before the gunfire. Investigators have said the shooting happened outside the residence and that multiple 911 calls came from the area after the shots were fired.

The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office filed two murder counts against Saldana on April 23. The complaint includes allegations that he personally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury, that the case involved multiple murders, that he used a weapon, that the crime showed planning, sophistication and professionalism, and that his conduct was violent. District Attorney Tim Ward announced the charges two days after the shooting. Saldana entered a not guilty plea at arraignment and remained in custody with no bail. A preliminary hearing conference was scheduled for May 4 in Superior Court.

The killings shook a Central Valley city where family connections can stretch across schools, churches, workplaces and nearby farm communities. Dinuba Unified School District Superintendent Marti Kochevar said the district was offering support because one of the victims was related to a student. “It is a tragic loss,” Kochevar said. “There is just no doubt about it, and it takes time to process.” Police said Torres and Medina left behind children, a detail that pushed the case beyond the crime scene and into classrooms and homes where relatives were left to explain sudden deaths.

Medina’s family later described him as “Pepe” and said loved ones were struggling to absorb the killing while preparing for funeral costs and caring for his two sons. Public reports from relatives focused on the loss of a father and the shock of a killing outside a home. Officials have not released many personal details about Torres, but police and local reporting identified her as the mother of Saldana’s child. The double killing added to a broader pattern of domestic-related shootings in the region, though prosecutors have not publicly described any prior criminal case involving Saldana and Torres.

In court, the case now turns from the fast police response to the slower process of testing evidence, reviewing video, examining warrants and deciding whether prosecutors can prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. A preliminary hearing conference is not a trial. It is an early step in which lawyers address scheduling, evidence and whether the case is ready to move toward a hearing. Saldana has pleaded not guilty, and the charges remain allegations unless proved in court. Prosecutors have said a conviction could bring life in prison or the death penalty.

For investigators, several facts remain central: two people were found dead in a driveway, a suspect was tracked from Dinuba to Reedley and back, and police say a firearm and vehicles were recovered. What remains less clear is the exact exchange that preceded the gunfire and why Saldana returned to Dinuba after leaving the scene. Those questions are expected to be tested through witness statements, forensic work and court filings as the case moves forward.

Saldana remained jailed without bail after his not guilty plea. The next public milestone in the case was the May 4 preliminary hearing conference, where the double-murder prosecution was expected to begin moving toward its next court phase.

Author note: Last updated May 18, 2026.