Suspicious death in Riverbank was a shooting at property with illegal marijuana grow
A death investigation at a home just outside of Riverbank on Highway 108 was upgraded to a homicide and a suspect is in custody.
A man was shot and killed Thursday on the property, where Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputies also found an illegal marijuana growing operation, said Sgt. Luke Schwartz.
Both the victim, who has not been identified, and the suspect were located in a fenced area on the property behind two structures in the front.
Because they were in a barricaded area and due to the suspicious nature of the call that brought law enforcement to the property, the SWAT team was called out, Schwartz said.
Schwartz said a person from out of the area called police with second-hand information about the incident.
He would not elaborate, but radio traffic indicates the suspect, identified by Schwartz as 42-year-old Jose Valencia, walked to a nearby store to call his brother in Los Angeles and tell him about the shooting, then walked back to the property, where he lives.
Booking logs show Valencia was born in Los Angeles. He was booked on one count of murder and is being held without bail. He had not been formally charged by the District Attorney’s Office as of Friday.
Schwartz said that while marijuana was found at the property, it is unknown at this point whether that had anything to do with the shooting or what the motive was.
Riverbank Police Services handled the marijuana eradication. Chief Ed Ridenour said there were just over 400 mature plants and over 150 pounds of processed marijuana.
Authorities ask anyone with information about the shooting to call Detective Summerton at 209-652-1069 or, for Spanish speakers, Detective Esquivez at 209-652-1792.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 10:37 AM.
