Modesto police arrest suspect in woman’s motel room homicide
A Stockton man was arrested by Modesto police Saturday in a woman’s fatal shooting days earlier in a Modesto motel room.
Detectives from the Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit arrested 31-year-old Maurice Franklin Jr. on suspicion of killing 22-year-old Diasia Sease of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
She was found dead of a gunshot wound July 20 in her room at the Best Western Palm Court Inn at 2001 W. Orangeburg Ave.
Through information gathered during the investigation, detectives were able to identify Franklin as the suspect, according to an MPD Facebook post Sunday morning. With help from the Stockton Police Department, Franklin was taken into custody during a traffic stop in Stockton.
Investigators served a search warrant at his Stockton residence and found two firearms, along with additional evidence related to the crime.
Out of concern for the occupant, motel staff entered Sease’s second-story room a little after 11 a.m., found her and called 911. Firefighters and paramedics responded to the hotel, declared Sease dead and notified police.
No information has been released on a possible motive for the homicide or any relationship between the victim and the suspect.
Sease’s death marks Modesto’s eighth homicide this year. There were five homicides in Modesto at the same time last year.
