Full Notification

Modesto, CA - The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate what was believed to be a home invasion wherein several people were injured as a result of an exchange of gunfire. One of the individuals most severely injured remains in a medically induced coma at a local area hospital and is listed in critical condition.

The incident unfolded on Sunday, November 1st, 2020 @ approximately 9:45 a.m. in the 4100 block of Roselle Avenue in an unincorporated portion of Modesto. Initial dispatch information reported suspicious circumstances where a shirtless man covered in blood approached the caller to say he had been he had been injured and needed an ambulance. Our patrol deputies immediately responded to a residence on Roselle in order to gather more information and render emergency aid. We were told multiple firearms were involved during the incident with suspects still potentially on-scene.

Given the in-progress nature of the call, as well as taking into consideration the high level of risk associated with responding to a violent home invasion, we utilized resources from a wide variety of other allied law enforcement agencies. The California Highway Patrol responded, as did the Ceres & Modesto Police Departments. They provided traffic control, armored vehicle support and canine units to assist with searching and scent tracking. Multiple victims in need of urgent medical attention were located at the expansive rural property which contained numerous sheds, Conex box containers and outbuildings.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department Special Weapons & Tactics team was activated in order to help with locating other suspects and victims. They found a person suffering from severe injuries. Medical aid was rendered, and the individual was moved to a safe location for transport to the hospital. We will not be releasing the identities of any of the involved individuals at this time, as our investigators are still in the process of conducting interviews, identifying other relevant witnesses, sorting through evidence, and trying to confirm what has already been preliminarily revealed.

The Sheriff’s Department response was augmented by our Air Support Unit, which consisted of our Air 101 helicopter hovering from above to coordinate the organization of our ground-unit perimeter, as well as our drones providing added aerial surveillance and real-time scene monitoring.

Our belief is the home invasion robbery was motivated by the large amount of processed/packaged marijuana found at the residence on Roselle Avenue. This was an illicit marijuana grow where those tending to the crop and product had no proper licensures with Stanislaus County or the State of California. The value of the seized marijuana is believed to be over $3 million.

The investigation is ongoing, no arrests have yet been made, and we urge members of the public to come forth with any information which may help our case. We ask you to contact Lead Detective Esquivez by calling 209-567-4466.

Sheriff Jeff Dirkse praised his personnel and reminded the public of the following: “We thank our partnering agencies who helped with the strong initial response on Roselle Avenue Sunday morning. I am proud of the professionalism demonstrated by all involved first-responders, and I urge the community to remember the violent dangers commonly associated with the illegal sale of black-market marijuana.”