KANSAS CITY, Kan. (WDAF) — In the six weeks since 38-year-old Ricardo Salazar was shot and killed, there was a high-speed chase, a crash and a carjacking.
Salazar’s brother, 34-year-old Ricky Salazar, was captured Sept. 30 and charged Monday in his older brother’s death, court records say.
Ricardo Salazar’s daughters said they were on the hunt the entire way in partnership with US Marshals, looking for justice for their dad.
Versaeli and Sisali Salazar couldn’t believe it when they were told their dad had been shot.
“He was hard working. He was a really good dad, too,” 12-year-old Versaeli Salazar said.
“We are so young. I’m only 17 and she’s 12. I never thought the day would come this soon,” her sister, Sisali, said.
They spent more than a month by their father’s side after the Aug. 15 shooting, learning the suspect was their dad’s little brother Ricky.
Ricardo Salazar got in an argument when Ricky Salazar wanted to store stolen property at his brother’s home, WDAF reports.
“People did not like him, and it put my dad in danger, and I told my dad. But my dad was such a big-hearted person, he would tell me, ‘No, Sisali, it’s OK, he’s going to change,'” Sisali said.
After Ricardo Salazar died on Sept. 23, his daughters turned their attention to their Uncle Ricky, who hadn’t been seen since.
“My mom came into town, and we all went out in the streets looking for him. We weren’t going to sit down and rest peacefully until we knew he was found,” Sisali said.
The girls’ mother and Ricardo Salazar’s ex-wife, Cassie Ojeda said: “A mother’s instinct, you want to protect your kids. You see them hurting, and the only way you can help their hurt is to put the person who did this behind bars.”
They started trying to figure out who he might be staying with and putting up wanted posters. Tips to the US Marshals led to an arrest of at least one person suspected of harboring Ricky Salazar.
The mom and daughters were right there recording the moment.
“We were on him every move he made. We were zoning in on him,” Ojeda said.
There was a high-speed chase and a crash; Ricky Salazar carjacked a Lexus from a woman to get away. But his pursuers didn’t give up.
“To know that we did it and gave our dad peace was a really nice feeling,” Versaili said.
They didn’t get a chance to speak to their uncle when he was caught, but they know what they planned to say.
“We won’t ever get our dad, we won’t get him back. We won’t have anybody to walk us down the aisle when we grow up. He won’t be there for our graduation or any of our stuff. I just want him to realize what he’s taken from us,” Sisali said.
Ricky Salazar is charged with second-degree murder of his brother and domestic battery of his mother. He’s also charged with aggravated robbery from the carjacking and other charges related to him having a gun while he was on probation for previous aggravated robbery charges. He’s being held on $250,000 bond.
