Mendocino County: Wanted Fugitive Arrested in Connection with Homicide Investigation
Above: Stock Image
Mendocino County authorities have announced the arrest of a wanted fugitive in connection with a homicide investigation in Mariposa County.
In early November 2023, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received a request for assistance from the California Department of Justice Fugitive Apprehension Team in locating a wanted individual, identified as 42-year-old Justin Bolton. Bolton was a fugitive wanted in connection with an active homicide investigation in Mariposa County.
After extensive efforts to identify Bolton’s whereabouts, law enforcement officials determined that he was in Willits, in Mendocino County. Given the nature of the investigation and the urgency of the situation, the Mendocino and Lake Multi-Agency Regional S.W.A.T. Team was activated to aid in Bolton’s apprehension, the Sheriff’s Office said.
On the afternoon of November 13, law enforcement officers spotted Bolton entering a vehicle on Della Avenue in Willits. The vehicle was intercepted on Blosser Lane by members of the S.W.A.T. Team, who conducted a high-risk enforcement stop. The driver of the vehicle, identified as a family member of Bolton’s, reportedly complied with verbal commands to exit the vehicle.
Bolton, who was seated in the passenger seat, allegedly refused to comply with repeated verbal commands to exit the vehicle. A Sheriff’s Office K-9 deputy was ultimately deployed to assist in his apprehension. Bolton was physically removed from the vehicle and taken into custody without further incident.
Bolton was transported to the Mendocino County jail and booked on a felony murder arrest warrant. He is currently pending extradition to Mariposa County, where the warrant was issued. The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office is the lead investigating agency in the case.
