Baja California Attorney General María Elena Andrade Ramírez announced on May 5 that five people have been arrested in connection with the April 24 ambush killing of Ángel Pantoja Pantoja, the homicide unit coordinator for the state Attorney General’s Office (FGE) in Ensenada.
All five suspects were detained within 12 hours of the murder, Andrade Ramírez said at a press conference alongside Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda. Investigators believe both the gunmen and those who ordered the killing are among those in custody.
A Coordinated Ambush on Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas
Pantoja Pantoja, 45, was traveling alone in his official vehicle around 9:00 a.m. on April 24 near the intersection of Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas and Horticultores in the Villas del Rey neighborhood of southern Ensenada. Armed gunmen in a white Kia blocked his path while a second vehicle pulled alongside and opened fire with long rifles.
Reports from multiple Mexican news outlets indicate the attackers fired more than 100 rounds at the official’s truck. The FGE held funeral honors for Pantoja Pantoja at the agency’s Ensenada plaza, where Andrade Ramírez confirmed progress in the investigation.
Motive Tied to Organized Crime Cases
The attorney general said the killing was directly tied to Pantoja Pantoja’s work. As regional coordinator of the Crimes Against Life Unit covering Ensenada and San Quintín, he had been handling more than 20 active cases involving Ensenada municipal police officers at the time of his death.
Many of those homicide cases involved organized crime groups, Andrade Ramírez said. “This is high-risk work, and we deal with individuals connected to organized crime,” she told reporters. “Some of the homicides are tied to criminal organizations because we live on the border.”
The attorney general also said the five suspects are believed to be connected to other violent incidents beyond the Pantoja Pantoja killing. She did not name the suspects or specify what other cases they may be linked to.
Investigation Remains Open
Arrests were carried out through search operations and intelligence work by the state agency, according to information shared during Governor Ávila Olmeda’s regular press conference on April 29, when officials first confirmed that suspects were in custody. The formal announcement of five detainees came on May 5.
The investigation remains open. Andrade Ramírez said the FGE is using “all its technological and human resources” to build the case.
The killing of a senior homicide investigator is rare even by the standards of Baja California’s border region, where cartel violence has long pressured law enforcement. Pantoja Pantoja is the highest-ranking FGE official killed in Ensenada in recent memory.
First reported by Punto Norte and El Imparcial.