Ceres and Merced men die in third Stanislaus County murder-suicide in four months
A Merced man fatally shot a Ceres man in the victim’s home before turning the gun on himself in what was the third murder-suicide in Stanislaus County this year.
The incident occurred at 6 a.m. Saturday at the home of 20-year-old Benjamin McGuire in the 2600 block of Redwood Road in Ceres, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.
Through their investigation, deputies learned 51-year-old Damon Banks showed up at McGuire’s home and shot him, then shot himself. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
“So far, the investigation has revealed that this was an isolated incident involving parties that knew each other previously,” according to the press release.
Following a dispute at his south Modesto home last month, 29-year-old Derek Pimentel shot and killed 55-year-old Lisa Flores, the maternal grandmother of his child, then fatally shot himself.
In July, Jason Flores, 41, killed his 71-year-old mother, Gloria Flores, and shot his 46-year-old brother before turning the gun on himself inside their Inyo Avenue home. The brother survived the attack.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Erich Layton said he can’t recall when there have been three murder-suicides in one year, much less within a four-month period. None of the cases are related, but the first two both started out as family arguments before escalating, he said.
Layton did not immediately know a motive for the most recent case in Ceres.
Anyone with information about that case is asked to contact Detective Darwin Summerton directly at 209-525-7032. If you would like to remain anonymous, you can provide a tip by calling Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636. Tipsters can also submit tips at 111.stancrimetips.org or use the mobile app “P3”.
This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 9:05 AM.
