Stockton man victim in fatal Strathmore shooting
The man fatally shot by a woman outside a Strathmore home Jan. 30 has been identified as John Guzman, 31 of Stockton, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department reported late Tuesday.
TCSD spokesperson Sgt. Chris Douglass said the man suffered a fatal shot to the head.
The incident began around 5:30 that night when two men attempted a home invasion robbery of a home on Avenue 194, just east of Road 230 in Strathmore.
According to Douglass, both men brandished a weapon, and then entered the residence with a man from the home. The woman and others, including children, were inside.
The two men demanded items and began to look through the residence. It turned out they were seeking marijuana and after the shooting, detectives with the TCSD found $1.6 million worth of marijuana in the house.
During the robbery, one of the victims was able to flee the residence and alert law enforcement of the robbery. A second victim, a woman, was able to arm herself and got into a gun battle with the two men outside of the home. She shot Guzman in the head and the other man, described as an adult Hispanic male, fled on foot. He has yet to be identified and remains at large.
The woman, who is considered a victim in the case, has not been identified or charged with a crime.
According to the sheriff’s office, the home had been checked twice this summer for growing marijuana, but the owner had the necessary letters of recommend to grow the marijuana for medical purposes. However, the investigation after the shooting led detectives to arrest the man, identified as Candelario Andrade Moran, 32, for possession of marijuana for sale, possession of an assault weapon and child endangerment.
In the home, detectives found 386 pounds of packaged processed marijuana, over 40 pounds of unpackaged marijuana, multiple firearms, pay/owe sheets, scales and in excess of $23,000 in cash.
Although initial reports indicated the two robbery suspects may have been involved in other similar crimes, Douglass said it appears that was based on the multiple calls for the one incident.
The death is the county’s ninth marijuana-related homicide within the past year, the first in 2012.
