Shooting death outside Modesto movie theater was drug deal gone bad, police say

The man fatally shot more than three months ago in the parking lot of the Regal theater complex on McHenry Avenue was there to do a drug deal, Modesto police said Tuesday.

The father of 21-year-old Sharieff Muhammad of Vallejo recently told The Bee the same thing. Ronald E. Muhammad said police told him the deal turned into a robbery. “They said my son and his friends came down there to take the weed instead of buying it,” he said. “I just don’t see that.”

Sharieff Muhammad was among a group of people in the parking lot when he was shot at about 11:30 p.m. May 15. Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Sharon Bear said physical evidence and interviews with witnesses and the victim’s friends confirmed a drug exchange.

Detectives also learned through interviews that another person was shot. They believe that person was among those on the other side of the drug deal, Bear said, and they do not know if or where the other person sought medical treatment.

His son had not before been to Modesto, Ronald Muhammad believes. A “so-called friend” apparently told Sharieff about marijuana available here and set up a buy, he said.

Muhammad said his son was “real smart, real friendly” and was studying business management at San Jose State University. “The last time we talked,” Muhammad said by phone in August, “my son was texting me about writing him a letter of recommendation for a job. Later on that night, he got killed.”

Anyone who witnessed or has information on the May 15 homicide is urged to call the Modesto Police Department at 209-572-9500 or Stanislaus Area Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward. Tips also can be submitted via www.stancrimetips.org or by downloading the P3 app on a mobile device.

This story was originally published September 5, 2018 at 6:58 AM.