A woman was arrested in connection with the 2025 drive-by shooting death of Obdulia Sanchez, who was previously convicted of livestreaming the 2017 crash that killed her younger sister.
Monica Barajas, 27, was arrested on March 12 after San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office detectives served search warrants in the 2000 block of East 6th Street and the 700 block of San Miguel Avenue in Stockton.
The sheriff’s office said Barajas was identified as a suspect during the operation.
Barajas is set to appear in court for an arraignment hearing at 1:30 p.m. on March 16 at the Stockton courthouse.
Just after 7 p.m. on Dec. 2, 2025, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to the 700 block of Gertrude Avenue on reports of a shooting. A man and Sanchez were found at the scene with gunshot wounds and taken to a hospital, deputies said.
Sanchez later died from her injuries.
In 2018, Sanchez, who was 19 at the time, was sentenced to six years and four months in prison for driving drunk while live-streaming the crash that killed her 14-year-old sister.
She was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter with an enhancement for causing bodily injury or death to more than one victim and abuse and endangerment of a child.
The car, driven by Sanchez, veered onto the shoulder of a road in Los Banos. Authorities said she overcorrected, causing the vehicle to swerve and overturn, ejecting and killing her sister, Jacqueline Sanchez.
Prosecutors said Sanchez was livestreaming on Instagram while driving and the video showed her taking her hands off the steering wheel.
The recording showed her after the crash, leaning over her dead sister.
At the time of Sanchez’s death, she had been on parole supervision since Sept. 30, 2025.
Record reporter Victoria Franco covers public safety in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at vfranco@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Suspect arrested in drive-by that killed woman who livestreamed sister’s death
Reporting by Victoria Franco, The Stockton Record / The Record
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