FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
A cartoon that former Fairfielder Terry N. Lanham drew in 1969 after cutting apricots that summer in the Suisun Valley. (Courtesy photo)
Back in the Day: Cutting fruit during summers in Suisun Valley a rite of passage
A rite of passage for many Solano County residents growing up was cutting fruit in the summers for different ranches in the Suisun Valley. They included German and Sons, Cal Yee’s, Piazza’s, Lum’s, the Fong ranch, Glashoff’s and more.
It was a first job for many people and the reasons they did it were as varied as needing to help out their households financially, earning funds for school clothes or just making money for recreational spending.
- ADVERTISEMENT -
Wednesday morning, homicide detectives and forensics crews were still at the scene on Olive Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets, where friends from the neighborhood gathered on the corner to comfort each other after hearing about what happened.
“All we know is people walked in and found him dead on the floor,” said an acquaintance of the victim, who emphatically declined to give his name considering the shooter or shooters were still loose.
The victim was found dead in his apartment, according to the acquaintance, who said he’d dropped him off there just an hour earlier, but the exact time of the shooting wasn’t immediately clear. Neighbors said they hadn’t heard gunfire or realized anything was wrong until police arrived Tuesday night.
- ADVERTISEMENT -
Police learned of the shooting after paramedics were called to the 1400 block of St. Louis Avenue just before 8:50 p.m. Wednesday. Someone reported there was “a male who fell and appeared to be injured in the street,” police said.
When medics arrived, they found the boy in the street near 14th Street with apparent gunshot wounds to his upper body, according to the LBPD.
Dispatchers got no calls about gunshots in that area prior to the victim being found, police spokeswoman Allison Gallagher said. It’s unclear if he was shot elsewhere.
The 14-year-old, identified as Arthur Touch, of Long Beach, died at the scene, authorities said.
- ADVERTISEMENT -
Paramedics were first called to the 1400 block of St. Louis Avenue just before 8:50 p.m. after someone reported “a male who fell and appeared to be injured in the street,” police said. When they got there, they saw the victim in the roadway near 14th Street with apparent gunshot wounds to his upper body and called for police. The paramedics determined he was dead, officials said.
Dispatchers got no calls about gunshots in that area prior to the victim being found, police spokeswoman Allison Gallagher said. It’s unclear if he was shot elsewhere.
The victim is only being identified as a male and police do not know how old he was. The Los Angeles County Coroner will work to identify the victim and notify his family.