Suspect in 2015 Modesto homicide apprehended in Louisiana

A Modesto man is in the Stanislaus County Jail after being arrested in Louisiana as a suspect in a 2015 homicide in an orchard on Whitmore Avenue.

Deputies received information last week that Christopher Schopp, 21, was hiding in Vivian, Louisiana, under an assumed name, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said Monsday. Detectives contacted the Caddo County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and Schopp was taken into custody without incident, Christianson said.

In Stanislaus County, he was booked on charges of homicide and conspiracy. Bail is set at $1 million.

Schopp was identified as a suspect shortly after the May 1, 2015, shooting death of Merced resident Vang Xiang in the 2600 block of West Whitmore Avenue in Modesto.

A Bee report at the time said detectives believe Schopp lured Xiong and his brother to an orchard on Whitmore about 7:15 p.m. for a drug deal. Two armed men arrived with Schopp, and during the drug deal, one of the men shot Xiong.

Schopp and the two men fled in a vehicle. Xiong's brother began to drive him to the hospital, but stopped in the area of Kansas Avenue and Franklin Street in Modesto to call for help. An ambulance took Xiong to the hospital; he later died as a result of his gunshot wounds.

The men with Schopp remain at large, Christianson said. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective Cory Brown at 209-567-4485.

Tips also can be made by calling Stanislaus Area Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636. Tipsters can email through the Crime Stoppers website, www.stancrimetips.org. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a cash reward.

This story was originally published September 25, 2017 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Suspect in 2015 Modesto homicide apprehended in Louisiana."