San Leandro man fired repeatedly as victim lay on the ground begging for help, then buried him in a shallow grave, police say

SAN LEANDRO — A man suspected of committing a homicide at a homeless encampment where both the suspect and victim lived has been charged with murder and threatening an eyewitness from coming forward, court records show.

Andres Sanchez, 38, allegedly shot Miguel Estrada once during an argument, then stood over him and fired at least five more times as Estrada begged for help. About a day later, Sanchez dug a hole near Estrada’s tent and buried his body, according to San Leandro police.

Police were not notified of the April 26 homicide for two days, because Sanchez threatened a person who witnessed it and they were scared to come forward, authorities said. Police haven’t revealed the nature of his argument with Estrada.

After learning of the incident, authorities went to the encampment and dug up Estrada’s body.

Sanchez was arrested April 30, after leading police on a short chase in his ATV, then running into an occupied home and barricading himself inside. Officers were able to get the residents out safely, but it took several more hours to bring Sanchez into custody, according to court records.

Sanchez has a criminal record that forbids him from lawfully having guns, leading to prosecutors also filing a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was most recently convicted of violating probation from a prior vandalism case. That stemmed from an incident in August 2023 when he led police on a chase through San Leandro, then gave arresting officers a false name, court records show.

Sanchez is set to be arraigned on Friday. He remains in Santa Rita Jail, where authorities are holding him without bail, records show.