Police identify Ceres homicide victim

The Menlo Park man found shot to death inside a Ceres home over the weekend has been identified as 40-year-old Joseph Dillard.

Dillard was found in the Ninth Street home of Anthony Frank Morris, 44, on Sunday evening after Ceres Police responded to a report of shots fired in the 3200 block.

Morris and a Stockton woman were detained and two teenagers, who were unharmed, were released to an adult.

The woman was later released but Morris was arrested on suspicion of murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Ceres Police are not releasing a motive or saying how the adults or teens in the home are related.

Morris is being held in the Stanislaus County Jail without bail. He had not been charged by the District Attorney’s Office as of Tuesday morning.

The homicide remains under investigation. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Detective Berlier at 209-538-5616 or Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-866-602-7463 or 209-521-4636.

This story was originally published September 24, 2019 at 12:13 PM.