Three jailed in deaths of two men in Modesto’s airport neighborhood; fires reported at scene
Police arrested three suspects in the shooting death of two men in Modesto’s airport district.
No other details, including a motive for the alleged homicides, were disclosed in the Facebook post Friday from the Modesto Police Department.
Police earlier identified the victims as Modesto residents Julian Sisk, 20, and Taurean Travis, 19. The shooting happened Tuesday afternoon on Thrasher Avenue.
The arrested suspects are Modesto residents Amber Gartin, 20; Salvador Licea-Valencia, 28; Manuel Alejandro Licea-Valencia, 24. They remain in the Stanislaus County Jail without bail on murder and other charges.
Police did not say where or when the suspects were arrested, nor if the arrests were connected to a chase and crash in Ceres Thursday. The relationship between the two men with similar names also was not known.
Police officers responded at 1:22 p.m. Tuesday on reports of multiple shots fired in the 600 block of Thrasher, south of Oregon Drive. A police spokeswoman said that Sisk and Travis died of gunshot wounds at the scene.
Late Wednesday, firefighters and police officers responded to a vehicle fire at the same location as the homicides.
About 11:30 p.m., Modesto Fire and Stanislaus Consolidated Fire crews were dispatched to reports of a structure fire, according to a battalion chief’s incident report. They found a vehicle burning near a residence, quickly extinguished it and then made sure the fire had not extended into the home. The Stanislaus Regional Fire Investigation Unit also was on the scene.
“Detectives are aware of the car fire and are investigating whether it was related (to the shootings) or not,” police spokeswoman Sharon Bear told The Modesto Bee in a text message Thursday. “If anyone has information regarding the car fire, they can contact Crime Stoppers or our investigations division.
“We would ask that people not take retaliation into their own hands — it only hinders the investigation and dilutes resources.”
Gartin also was booked on drug, child neglect and conspiracy charges. Salvador Licea-Valencia also faces drug, assault weapon and conspiracy charges. Manuel Alejandro Licea-Valencia has additional child neglect, assault weapon and conspiracy charges.
Anyone with information about the homicides is urged to call Detective Josh Grant at 209-342-6104 or leave an anonymous tip with Stanislaus Area Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636.
Modesto Bee staff writer Ken Carlson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 24, 2021 at 12:36 PM.
