Stockton birthday party shooting: Sheriff addresses whether this was gang related

STOCKTON, Calif. - The San Joaquin County sheriff on Tuesday doled out a few new facts and addressed whether the deadly birthday party shooting, where four people died — including two 8-year-old girls, a 14-year-old boy and a 21-year-old – was gang-related.

Sheriff Patrick Withrow said he wanted to give the public an update on the Nov. 29 tragedy at the Monkey Space banquet hall in honor of a 2-year-old's birthday party, quickly adding: "There's not a whole lot I'll be able to give you." 

Patience requested

To date, a suspect or suspects have not been identified or arrested, though officials have said they believe the shooting was targeted. The only suspect description, he said, is that the people involved were dressed in black and had face coverings.

"I'm asking the public to be patient," Withrow said. "I know this is going to be difficult, but this is not going to be in a week or two."

Gang related?

Winthrow tackled the question on many people's minds: Was this gang related?

The father of one of the teenage victims told KTVU that he saw a shooter appearing to head toward a rapper at the party when his son was shot and killed.

"Another thing I want to touch on is that there's been a lot of talk about whether this was gang related or not," Withrow said. "And I've told you all along that we cannot determine whether this is gang related or not," Withrow said. "Obviously, we know that there were known gang members at this party, but we do not know whether that was the reason or the motive of this shooting. So we're going to take our time and gather all our information and process it."

50 rounds, 5 guns

Withrow did relay a few new facts, including that at least 50 rounds went off from a total of five different guns, although that doesn't mean there are five different suspects. Some guns were found on top of the roof of the banquet hall.

Withrow said it would "take months" to sort through the evidence. 

"As you can imagine, we have a lot to process with all that type of evidence and the detail that we need to go into to try and determine how many actors we had involved in this and how many people were actually shooting because there were five different firearms," Withrow said. "That doesn't mean there were five different suspects." 

He assured the public that his office is partnering with the ATF, the FBI, the US Attorney's Office and Stockton police in trying to find out who killed Journey Rose Reotutar Guerrero, 8; Maya Lupian, 8; Amari Peterson, 14; and Susano Archuleta, 21, all of whom were guests at the birthday party. 

He said even the CHP commissioner called to see how he could help. 

How to help

Many in the community are asking how they can help, too.

At a county meeting earlier on Tuesday, San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas, who asked that people donate to the families of the victims in this case, or to the reward fund through Crime Stoppers. 

Amari's parents, Patrick and Kimberly Peterson, reluctantly asked for financial help at a separate meeting hosted by Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee.

Both parents looked bereft, saying they wish they had their son back, but also stated that they needed help, especially accessing mental health services. 

"With me losing my best friend, it kind of has me thinking that I’m going crazy," Patrick Peterson said, his wife leaning on his shoulder. "Like I’m looking in his room, I’m looking around the corner, like am I trippin' or is he there? People keep telling me he’s there with me in my heart and all that, but I don’t see him, I don’t feel him."

He said he doesn't know how he is going to get through this. 

"We’re getting a whole lot of prayers and a whole lot of hugs, but it’s really tough, especially for me," he said. "Money comes and goes, I just want my son back." 

Peterson stressed that he is desperate to keep his son's name alive, and prevent this from happening again. 

Tips can be anonymous

At the same time, Withrow said his detectives are just as desperate for credible information. More than 50 tips have come in so far, and Withrow said he wants more.

He assured people that they can remain anonymous – because the tips come in through a third-party vendor - so that the sheriff never has any idea who sent the information in. He also said the tipster information won't come out in court or in police reports. 

"So that's huge," he said. "If you're afraid to come forward on this, please come forward on this."

 

CaliforniaCrime & Public Safety