Police make two arrests in double shooting during weekend festival in Stanislaus County
Two men were arrested Thursday in connection with shootings that wounded two juveniles the night of Sept. 5 outside the Newman Fall Festival.
Officers arrested Luis Ortiz, 19, of Gustine on suspicion of attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon and robbery.
According to Newman police, Ortiz committed an armed robbery near Main and Fresno streets just before the shooting. Jonathan Cota, 20, of Gustine was arrested in connection with the robbery and could face robbery and conspiracy charges, according to the Newman police Facebook page.
Two juvenile victims were airlifted to area hospitals after being struck by gunfire. The shootings occurred about 10:23 p.m. in the 1100 block of Fresno Street near Pioneer Park, where the city’s annual Fall Festival was held. A festival schedule showed a youth dance party was underway.
The morning after the shooting, the Newman Police Department posted on its Facebook page that it would be releasing no information on the ages, conditions or other identifying characteristics of the victims.
Ortiz and Cota were booked in Stanislaus County jail. Bail was set at $1.45 million for Ortiz and $50,000 for Cota.
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 11:12 AM.
