Two men shot dead on farm

TWO MEN SHOT DEAD ON FARMSLAYINGS ARE 4TH, 5TH IN OR AROUND TURLOCK IN LESS THAN A MONTHOrigin BY MICHAEL R. SHEA, BEE STAFF WRITERTwo men were shot dead Thursday night in a rural farmhouse just outside the city limit.

Stanislaus County sheriff's detectives are investigating the double homicide of Antonio Rivera, 24, and Efrain Cervantes, 32, both of Turlock.

Turlock police responded to 2719 W. Linwood Ave., near Tegner Road, and found the two men inside the home before turning the investigation over to sheriff's detectives.

One victim was transported by helicopter to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto and the other by ambulance to Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock. Both died of their wounds shortly after arrival.

"It appears from the scene they may have known their assailant, just by the way the interior of the house was," sheriff's Sgt. Mike Parker said. "There didn't appear to be any type of struggle."

Parker said there were no signs of a break-in and it looked as if the killer had been invited inside the house.

The wife of one of the victims also was inside. She heard gunfire and called 911 to say her husband and his friend had been shot, Parker said. She is cooperating with investigators, he said, but would not release her name.

James Phipps of Turlock manages the home and 20 acres of surrounding farmland for the owner, Albert Welch of San Jose.

"I was down there talking to the wife. She doesn't speak English too well, but she told me these two people, two men, and the husband said they were going upstairs to talk. She was going in to fold clothes, then she heard two shots," Phipps said.

He said he didn't have the names of the renters with him.

"I'm going to have to find new renters. That's all the police told me," Phipps said.

At 10:45 a.m. Friday, sheriff's deputies were working at the shooting scene. One ran a metal detector along a side yard looking for evidence.

About two miles off Lander Avenue, just outside the city limit, the dirty-white farmhouse sits in front of an old, weather-beaten barn. Pine cones spray-painted gold sit on the front porch and a piece of plywood covers a back window.

Rivera and Cervantes are the fourth and fifth homicides in the Turlock area in less than a month.

Denise Swanner was shot twice with her own .380-caliber handgun on Oct. 4 near her apartment on Pioneer Avenue. Police arrested Matthew Younker, 25, on suspicion of murder.

Less than two weeks later, on Oct. 15, Moses Rodriguez Jr., 25, and Luis Peralta, 16, both of Turlock, died when they were shot in the head in south Turlock -- about three miles east of Thursday's crime scene. Police do not think the two incidents are related.

Turlock police said the recent shooting deaths are not an indicator of increased crime.

"Yes, it's a lot, but no different than 2004, when we had six homicides in a short period," Lt. Fin Johnson said. "Homicides are utilitarian ventures, almost always personal, and there's very little you can do to prevent them."

This story was originally published November 4, 2006 at 10:48 PM with the headline "Two men shot dead on farm."