Arrest made in Strathmore shooting

A woman in the Strathmore home where two men attempted to steal marijuana was able to arm herself and fatally shot one of the assailants, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department announced late Wednesday afternoon.

A man in the home, however, was arrested Wednesday on charges of possession of marijuana for sale, possession of an assault weapon and child endangerment. He was identified as Candelario Andrade Moran, 32 of Strathmore.

The incident began about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday when two masked men attempted to steal marijuana from the home where it was known marijuana was grown this past summer.

According to the Sheriff’s Department, the suspect (the decedent) and his partner pulled up to the residence in a vehicle and made contact with one victim outside the residence. One suspect brandished a weapon, and then both suspects entered the residence with the victim where there were other residents of the home.

The suspects demanded items and began to look through the residence.

One of the residents was able to flee the house and alert law enforcement of the home invasion robbery.

A second resident, a woman, was able to arm herself and gunshots were exchanged between the suspects and the victim outside the residence. Additional calls to law enforcement were made regarding the shots fired. Broken glass from the suspect’s vehicle could be seen in the driveway Wednesday morning.

Numerous law enforcement officers converged on the scene, with a California Highway Patrol officer the first to arrive. After deputies arrived, they found one of the suspects wounded on the ground. It was a few minutes before he was transported because officers first had to be sure there were no more suspects before allowing medical personnel on scene. He was taken to a helicopter and flown to a Fresno hospital were he was pronounced dead. The man’s name is being withheld until next of kin have been notified.

The second suspect fled on foot and is still being sought. Officers searched a wide area of Strathmore looking for him to no avail Tuesday night. He is described as an Hispanic male adult.

Several TCSD detectives and two mobile crime scene labs were sent to the house, one of the larger homes in Strathmore. They worked through the night, not leaving until after 9 a.m. Wednesday.

During a search of the home, detectives discovered a large amount of packaged processed marijuana, several firearms including an assault rifle and a large amount of U.S. currency.

STEP detectives took over the marijuana portion of the investigation.

STEP detectives arrived at the scene and obtained an amendment to the Violent Crimes Search Warrant for marijuana and marijuana related items. Ultimately items seized by STEP detectives included 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.  

Authorities said the location had been visited twice in the past regarding compliance with medicinal marijuana issues.

Moran possessed a medical marijuana card and several Care Provider cards which enabled him to possess several pounds of processed marijuana. However, the discovery of over 400 pounds of marijuana, the pay/owe sheets, scales and large amount of currency led detectives to believe he was selling large amounts of marijuana for other than medical use.

State law prohibits the outright sale of marijuana. Possession of an unregistered assault weapon is also a crime. Detectives at the scene determined the children at the residence were also being endangered by the conditions they were forced to live in.

Street value of the marijuana would be in excess of $1.6 million dollars.

This is the first deadly incident in the county this year tied to marijuana, but there were eight killings in 2011 related to marijuana growing. In October, a man was found shot to death in an illegal marijuana garden on Road 244 near Strathmore.

Officials have been warning of the increasing danger of illegal growing of marijuana which greatly escalated this past summer on the Valley floor. Sheriff’s officials estimated more than 600 illegal grow sites were discovered and STEP officers were taking down one or more gardens almost daily, including many along the Orange Belt. More than 200,000 plants were chopped down last year, most of those on the Valley floor.

Shock in Strathmore

Pastor Terry Tredway of the Original United Pentecostal Church which is next door to the home where the shooting occurred, said the shooting has “kind of shook up some people.”

He and his wife were at the church preparing for Tuesday night service when they heard “six to eight” gunshots. The service was cancelled.

“We really hate that it happened,” said Tredway, who added the church had no problems with the occupants of the house next door. He said he would see children out in the yard.

“I had no concern with the house. They were very nice people,” he said.

He also said he had no knowledge that marijuana was being grown at the house, but he had heard rumors.

“It’s a shock,” he said of the shooting.