Post by Scumhunter on Jan 12, 2020 1:51:02 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: pe.com via Banning California Police Department)
From pe.com: (Press Enterprise- Riverside County, California)
A little more than a year after a man was shot to death and another paralyzed by gunfire in front of a Banning liquor store, the suspect remains at large.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Brody Joseph Baca, 21, who police believe killed a longtime acquaintance, Alex Marcotte, and wounded another man. The Press-Enterprise is not identifying that man because he is a witness.
Baca has been charged in Riverside County Superior Court with murder, attempted murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Baca was convicted in November 2018 of possessing a stolen firearm and was sentenced to 116 days in the sheriff’s work-release program and three years’ probation. He failed to report for the work release, court records say.
“We need justice to be served for (the wounded man) and … Alex. Please continue to pray for our families,” the man’s aunt wrote on a GoFundMe page she created to help with her nephew’s expenses.
Banning Police Chief Matthew Hamner said the department is searching for Baca nationwide.
“We take this personally. When someone commits a violent crime, we become relentless in our pursuit. We will not stop until he is brought to justice,” Hamner said.
Anyone hiding Baca also faces consequences, Hamner said.
“We will not have people subvert the criminal justice system by helping violent fugitives escape the long arm of justice,” the chief said.
Baca is described as Hispanic, 6-foot-2 and 150 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
The shooting happened just before 11 p.m. on Dec. 28, 2018, outside 4 Bros Liquor at 310 E. Ramsey St.
A sworn statement written to obtain an arrest warrant said a man, who is also not being identified by The Press-Enterprise because he is a witness, drove his friend Baca in a black Chevrolet Silverado pickup to the store, where they parked behind a white Dodge truck. The man went inside the store while Baca waited in the pickup. The man saw Marcotte and said “What’s up?” to him. Marcotte did not respond. The man did his shopping and when he exited, he saw Marcotte in the driver’s seat of the Dodge with the other victim in the passenger’s seat.
Marcotte got out and exchanged the “What’s up? greeting to the man. The man saw the second victim get out and talk to Baca, who was now outside the Chevrolet. Those two then walked toward Marcotte and the man.
“At this point, (the man) observed Baca remove a silver in color handgun,” the statement said. The man heard Marcotte say, “What the … fool, what’s that?” The man said Baca then shot the surviving victim. The man said he feared Baca would shoot him as well, so he ran to his truck and drove home, where his mother called police.
The surviving victim identified Baca through a photograph, the statement said. He also told police that he was shot in the back and did not see who fired. The statement did not describe the shooting of Marcotte. Both victims were taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where Marcotte was pronounced dead a little more than an hour after the shooting.
www.pe.com/2020/01/09/banning-homicide-suspect-remains-on-the-loose-we-need-justice-victims-relative-says/
Additional articles on case:
patch.com/california/banning-beaumont/banning-killing-1-year-later-suspect-remains-large
kesq.com/news/2019/12/20/family-seeking-justice-as-suspect-remains-on-the-loose/
Thoughts? We know Baca was unfortunately still at large at least as of January 11th, 2020 because of the articles reflecting the manhunt still ongoing a year or so later. Other articles stress the shooting was not gang related, and based on the article above, it seems that Baca shot Marcotte and the other man for apparently no reason. Also, other articles stress Baca has relatives in San Bernardino, Hemet and Banning, California as well as Arizona as far as potential leafs in tracking him down.
Finally, I just want to say I found out about this case after reading a posting from one of Alex's family members to In Pursuit's Facebook page requesting help. I want to stress this is only a fan site and although we know people from In Pursuit we have no official connection to the show and can only recommend cases but not get them on, but I was compelled to post after googling and learning about Alex's tragic and senseless murder. I believe In Pursuit has already picked their cases for Season 2, but should Baca unfortunately still be at large later in the year, I'll keep Alex's case in mind for cases to recommend to the show whenever they start working on Season 3. I can't promise anything and the show unfortunately has to turn down hundreds of cases a week but at least he'll be on a list for them to consider.
Admin Note #1: Anyone with information about Baca is asked to contact the Banning Police Department at 951-922-3170.
Admin Note #2: If you have any (news-related) updates on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form
