Victim in deadly Northern California cannabis grow shooting identified as 30-year-old man
Authorities on the Northern California coast said they have identified a man who was fatally shot near an illegal cannabis grow earlier this month.
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday provided an update on the May 14 shooting, which took place near the community of Covelo, about 180 miles north of San Francisco. One man died in the shooting and two others were injured.
Deputies said they identified the deceased victim as 30-year-old Jorge M. Zavala Estrella of Vallecito in Amador County. According to a forensic pathologist, Zavala Estrella's preliminary cause of death was due to multiple gunshot wounds.
According to the sheriff's office, deputies were dispatched to an area north of Covelo around 9 p.m. after a disconnected 911 call. Deputies said an unidentified male caller told dispatchers he needed help for a friend before the call disconnected.
A dispatcher was able to trace the approximate location of the call to a location on Mina Road. While deputies responded to the 911 call, another deputy responded to Adventist Health hospital in Ukiah after a man with possible gunshot wounds arrived in the emergency room.
During a search for the 911 caller on Mina Road, deputies were approached by a group of people who reported that an unresponsive male was found a mile away on Hulls Valley Road.
The deputies found the victim, later identified as Zavala Estrella, next to two vehicles. He was pronounced dead from apparent gunshot wounds at 12:42 a.m. on May 15.
Multiple firearms were found near Zavala Estrella, along with expended cartridge casings.
Deputies said they followed a trail of blood for about ¼ mile and found what was described as a "large marijuana grow" with hoop houses and several trailers.
At the hospital, deputies were able to interview the man being treated for gunshot wounds and determined both incidents were related. Later that morning, deputies located a third victim on Hulls Valley Road, an adult male who was also found with apparent gunshot wounds.
Both men were airlifted to hospitals outside Mendocino County for treatment.
Deputies said on May 20 that they found evidence of illegal cannabis cultivation under the control of a drug trafficking organization, but did not provide additional information about the group, citing the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office dispatch at 707-463-4086 and select Option 1. Tips can also be given anonymously by calling 707-234-2100.
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