Modesto homicide victim had been shot before, as robbery victim, sister says

A man disabled in a shooting years ago in Chicago was shot again in Modesto on Halloween night — this time fatally.

A woman who identified herself as his sister said the homicide victim on the 3700 block of Coffee Road on Wednesday night was Sam Sogol, who’d lived there about 10 years.

“He was loving. He always helped people, even people he doesn’t know,” said the woman, who was visiting from Chicago. When her brother worked in a restaurant there, he was wounded when robbers opened fire, she said.

Wednesday night, he was shot at about 7 p.m. in the garage area of his quadriplex on Coffee north of Sylvan Meadows Drive. He often would sit in the open garage to smoke, his sister said. But Wednesday night, he opened the door to take a friend to a store to get Halloween candy, she said.

“That’s when I heard, ‘boom!’ she said. She went to the garage and saw two men running away. She said there was money lying on the ground, but didn’t know if it was her brother’s or if his wallet was missing.

All the garages in the complex of quadriplexes face an alley behind it.

When police officers arrived, they found the victim, who had been shot at least once, Modesto Police Department spokesman Sharon Bear said. Initial reports were that he was shot in the neck. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy was expected to be performed Thursday.

There was no information Thursday morning about the suspects . Witnesses at the scene were giving conflicting statements, Bear said Wednesday night. Homicide detectives remained on scene several hours after the shooting.

Given the proximity of the garage, there were no trick-or-treaters or anyone else injured.

Bear said Wednesday that detectives were investigating the homicide as an isolated incident, and Stanislaus County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Tom Letras said his department’s early investigation of a shooting later Wednesday night farther north on Coffee indicates no connection between the two.

Wednesday’s was Stanislaus County’s seventh reported homicide this month, making October the deadliest month of 2018. It was the county’s fifth in the past two weeks.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information about it is urged to call Stanislaus Area Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward. Tips also can be submitted via www.stancrimetips.org.

This story was originally published November 1, 2018 at 11:41 AM.