Three Arrested, Fourth Suspect Sought in Fatal Shooting of Josepha Littlewolf Basurto
COVELO, CA — Authorities in Mendocino County have arrested three individuals and are searching for a fourth in connection with the fatal shooting of a Covelo woman near the site of an illegal cannabis cultivation operation.
According to a press release by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, an individual called 9-1-1 on the night of Wednesday, July 9, to report that she’d found a family member of hers deceased in a rural area outside of Covelo. Deputies who were already in Covelo responded to the scene. Emergency medical personnel and additional law enforcement from throughout the county responded as well.
The caller reported that they’d found their family member inside a vehicle on the 22000 block of Rifle Range Road, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies arrived on the scene within fifteen minutes and found the victim inside a silver 2007 Toyota Tacoma pickup. The vehicle appeared to have sustained significant damage from gunshots and the victim herself appeared to have suffered numerous gunshot wounds. The victim, confirmed deceased, was ultimately identified as 31-year-old Josepha Littlewolf Basurto of Covelo.
According to authorities, the scene where the victim and vehicle were located was also the site of a large illegal cannabis cultivation operation, which itself became a subject of investigation.
Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office detectives took over the investigation and were assisted by the Major Crimes Task Force, District Attorney’s Office, and the County of Mendocino Marijuana Eradication Team. Criminalists from the California Department of Justice in Eureka reportedly also responded to help process the crime scene.
An autopsy performed on Wednesday, July 15, confirmed the preliminary cause of death to be a gunshot wound to the torso and that the manner of death was a homicide, according to the sheriff’s office.
After speaking with numerous witnesses at the scene on Rifle Range Road, investigators determined that multiple parties were involved in the homicide. Two persons of interest were identified as two brothers who were staying at the cannabis cultivation site but had left after the shooting. They reportedly were not located during the initial investigation.
On Thursday, July 10, Investigators contacted Jesus Sosa, 35, in Sonoma County. Sosa, who was determined to have been connected to the cannabis cultivation operation at the Rifle Range Road property, was interviewed and provided additional information about the two persons of interest in Basurto’s murder.
Sosa was later arrested on felony charges related to the cannabis cultivation operation, including cultivation of marijuana with illegal water diversion, maintaining a place for illegal drug activity, and possession of marijuana for sales. He was later released after the District Attorney’s Office declined to press charges in connection with the cannabis operation, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators were eventually able to identify the brothers as Elias GarciaAcosta, 22, of Adelanto, and a 17-year-old juvenile. Investigators say the brothers’ father, 44-year-old Elias JuarezGarcia of Porterville, allegedly drove to the site of the homicide, picked up the two brothers, and left Mendocino County, and that they have probable cause to believe that he’d known his sons were involved in the homicide and helped them evade arrest. Investigators issued a stop-and-detain alert in connection with JuaresGarcia’s vehicle.
The investigation then travelled to San Bernardino County, where it was believed the three wanted individuals would be found together. With assistance from San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies, JuarezGarcia and GarciaAcosta were located in Adelanto on the evening of Thursday, July 17, along with the vehicle they allegedly fled Mendocino County in.
GarciaAcosta was arrested on suspicion of homicide and JuarezGarcia was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory after the commission of a felony. There were arrested by deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office.
The 17-year-old juvenile was not located at that time and remains wanted on a warrant for homicide, according to the sheriff’s office.
Mendocino County investigators travelled to San Bernardino County on Saturday, July 18, to interview the two suspects in custody. The investigators soon developed probable cause to believe that Sosa, the individual who’d previously been arrested and released, had also been involved in the shooting death of Josepha Basurto.
An arrest warrant for Sosa, to include homicide and the personal use of a firearm during a felony resulting in death, was approved by a Superior Court Judge in Mendocino County.
On Tuesday, July 21, GarciaAcosta and JuarezGarcia were extradited back to Mendocino County and booked on the charges laid out in their warrants. GarciaAcosta has been deemed ineligble for bail, while JuarezGarcia’s bail was set at $350,000.
On Thursday, July 23, Sosa was located and arrested at the Mendocino County Superior Courthouse on suspicion of homicide. He was later booked into the Mendocino County jail and has also been deemed ineligible for bail, according to authorities.
The 17-year-old juvenile’s whereabouts are still unknown. Investigators are continuing to work with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office to locate and take him into custody.
Anyone with information relevant to the case is encouraged to contact the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center at 707-463-4086 and choose option 1. Those who prefer to remain anonymous have the option of contacting the non-emergency tip line at 707-234-2100.
