Turlock man said ‘God’ told him to hit woman with his truck. A witness trailed him

A man who ran over a woman in the Walmart parking lot in Turlock on Wednesday told police he did it because she had “devils inside her.”

The 54-year-old victim was walking through the parking lot of the Walmart on Fulkerth Road at about 10:40 a.m. when the suspect, driving a Dodge pickup, accelerated toward her, said Turlock Police Sgt. Russ Holeman.

Kyle Holguin was in his vehicle behind the pickup when he saw it peel out and crash into the front of the Walmart. Then he saw the victim, lying on the ground, her shopping cart smashed.

Holguin said he was about to get out of his vehicle to help the woman but the suspect had pulled away from the building. The Dodge’s tires were screeching as the suspect alternated between reverse and drive.

Holguin called out to another bystander to help the woman then followed the Dodge as it drove toward the exit and pulled out onto Fulkerth.

He called 911 and relayed his location to dispatchers as he trailed the Dodge west on Fulkerth and into country roads west of Turlock.

The suspect seemed to notice he was being followed and started driving more erratically, Holguin said, running stop signs and reaching speeds of up to 85 mph.

The suspect turned left onto Faith Home Road then, south of West Main Street, turned west onto a dirt road.

Holguin stopped at the entrance to the dirt road and the suspect continued on for several hundred yards before crashing into a canal; the left side of the Dodge was submerged in water.

Turlock Police officers arrived before the cloud of dust kicked up by the Dodge had settled and closed in on the suspect who, Holguin said, had crawled out of the passenger side window.

Holeman said the suspect, “told officers that he was told by God that he needed to kill the victim due to her having a lot of devils inside of her. He admitted to running her over in an attempt to kill her.”

The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment of possible broken bones and head trauma but she is expected to survive, Holeman said.

Jose Mauriceo Perez, 41, of Turlock, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Holeman said a friend of Perez had called police earlier in the day because he was concerned about Perez. No information about why the friend was concerned was available Thursday but Holeman said officers went to Perez’s home and could not find him.

“It’s very likely that without (Holguin’s) involvement, this guy would have gotten away,” Holeman said.

This story was originally published September 20, 2018 at 2:14 PM.