Investigators said the gunman parked away from the house and arranged child care before the attack.
HANFORD, Calif. — Detectives are examining signs of planning after a convicted felon forced his way into his ex-wife’s home May 3 and fatally shot her boyfriend before killing himself, Hanford police said.
The case centers on what police say happened before Vincent Diaz, 33, reached the 1500 block of University Avenue early that Sunday. Diaz did not simply arrive at the door during a passing argument, investigators said. Police said he arranged a babysitter for his child, parked about 100 yards from the home and approached with a high-capacity firearm. Minutes later, Adrian Valdovinos, 25, was dead in a bedroom and Diaz was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The first public sign of violence came at 4:12 a.m., when Hanford police received a 911 call from the residence. During the call, a man and a woman could be heard arguing. The first officer arrived and heard the disturbance still unfolding inside. Police said the officer identified himself to the people in the home. A final shot was heard shortly afterward. Hanford Police Lt. Justin Vallin later said officers saw Diaz pass a window just before he killed himself. “It happened very fast,” Vallin said while describing the officers’ arrival and Diaz’s movement inside the house.
After Diaz shot himself, officers removed the woman from the home and conducted a protective sweep. They found Valdovinos dead inside a bedroom with gunshot wounds. The woman was not physically injured, according to police. Detectives later said Diaz was the woman’s ex-husband and Valdovinos was her current boyfriend. Police have not released the woman’s name. They also have not released the full 911 audio, the exact number of shots fired or the detailed path Diaz took after entering the house.
The planning details are central to the investigation because they show a chain of choices before the violence. Police said Diaz parked away from the home, a step that may have kept his vehicle out of immediate view. They said he forced entry into the residence rather than being let inside. They said he carried a firearm despite a felony record that barred him from having one. The department has not said where the gun was purchased, borrowed, stolen or otherwise obtained. Investigators are still trying to identify how Diaz got the weapon and whether anyone else had a role in that access.
The woman’s earlier contact with the court system is also part of the known record. Diaz and his former wife had been separated since August 2025, and she requested a restraining order in March that involved their child, according to court records cited by local reporters. Police have not released the full contents of that request. They also have not said whether Diaz had been served with any order, whether any hearing was pending or whether any prior calls for service at the home were part of the investigative file.
Valdovinos was known in Hanford as a boxer, and his death quickly moved beyond a police blotter item. Boxing outlets identified him as a former super lightweight prospect and listed his professional record as 8-2-1. Local reports said he was well known in the city’s boxing community. Police said they found no history of previous conflict between Valdovinos and Diaz. That point matters to investigators because it frames the fatal encounter around the domestic relationship, rather than a separate dispute between the two men.
Neighbors described a home that had once carried the sounds of a family’s daily life. Kelly Avila told a local television station the silence after the shooting would feel different. Craig Avila said he remembered hearing singing and good times at the house before the separation. “For this to happen is just sad to see,” he said. Their accounts did not add evidence about the shooting itself, but they showed how abruptly the violence changed the block around University and Stanford avenues.
The official response has moved from emergency action to post-scene investigation. Officers secured the home, recovered evidence and identified the two dead men. Detectives then began reconstructing the minutes between Diaz’s arrival and the final gunshot. Because Diaz died, there will be no murder trial against him. The criminal questions now focus on any other possible violations, including how a person prohibited from having a firearm obtained one. Police said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
The case has also been counted as Hanford’s third homicide of 2026, according to local television reporting. Officials have not said whether that figure will change how police deploy patrols or domestic violence investigators. The department’s statements have stayed focused on this case: the 911 call, the forced entry, the death of Valdovinos, the suicide of Diaz and the continuing search for information. Police have encouraged anyone with details to contact detectives, though no public update has named a new witness or suspect.
The investigation now turns on questions that began before Diaz reached the door: who knew he had the weapon, how he got it and whether the earlier restraining order request showed warning signs still under review by police.
Author note: Last updated Tuesday, May 26, 2026.