Visalia police arrested a 51-year-old man Wednesday in connection with the 2022 shooting death of James Martin Fernandez after detectives reopened the cold case earlier this year.

Michael Ruiz was taken into custody Oct. 28 at Corcoran State Prison as he was being released on an unrelated case, the Visalia Police Department said. He was booked into the Bob Wiley Detention Facility on a murder charge.

The case dates to March 31, 2022, when officers responded about 11:19 a.m. to a shooting in the 1600 block of West Cambridge Avenue.

Officers found 57-year-old Fernandez suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

The department’s Violent Crimes Unit investigated the shooting, but despite efforts to identify those responsible, the case eventually went cold, police said.

Detectives reopened the investigation in March 2026 and reviewed the evidence again. Police said those renewed efforts led detectives to identify Ruiz as a suspect in Fernandez’s killing.

More than four years after the shooting, detectives traveled Wednesday to Corcoran State Prison and arrested Ruiz as he was being released.

Got a Tip?

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective Samantha Gonzales at (559) 713-4576.

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