Two accused shooters appear in court to face charges from May 6 mass shooting in Chico
OROVILLE — Two men entered Butte
County Superior Court to face charges of murder and attempted murder stemming from a drive-by shooting early May 6 in Chico that drew national attention.
Oscar Sebastian Castrejon-sanchez, 18, of Chico, and his cousin Marcos Tiny Douglasayala, 21, of Hamilton
City, were charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder Monday. They’re accused of involvement in a gang-related shooting at an apartment complex in the 1000 block of Columbus Avenue, near Chico State.
Both men also face additional charges of assault with a firearm, and Castrejon-sanchez faces numerous firearms enhancements on his charges. The judge at Monday’s arraignment ordered both Castrejonsanchez and Douglas-ayala held without bail, citing public safety concerns.
They will next appear in court at 8:30 a.m. today for further arraignment and entry of pleas.
Callers reported multiple people having been shot from a vehicle, which then drove away from the area. Police responded and located five victims with gunshot wounds, four of whom required emergency medical attention at Enloe Medical Center.
Friends transported a sixth victim, 17-year-old Justina Stubbe, of Oroville, to Enloe in a private car before police arrived. Stubbe died at the hospital due to her injuries.
Shortly after receiving the calls, the local California Highway Patrol received a report that a car matching the description of the suspect vehicle had crashed into a utility pole at the intersection of Meridian and Wilson Landing roads, northwest of Chico. Recognizing the possible link between the two events, officers from the Chico Police Department responded to that location and found the car to be abandoned, with footprints leading away from the crash.
Chico Police detectives investigated, determining that the vehicle had been rented the day before and, in turn, were able to identify possible subjects associated with the renter of the vehicle.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said that over the next several days, detectives used witness interviews and obtained evidence through search warrants to identify the suspects who had been in the suspect vehicle.
Second shooting
While detectives were still working to identify all the involved parties, Castrejonsanchez committed a separate crime of shooting into an occupied house
May 8. Chico police used a drone in their efforts to catch him. Castrejonsanchez was found to have two firearms when he was caught. The district attorney’s office requested Castrejon-sanchez be held without bail after police charged him with that crime.
Chico detectives were also able to identify the two other people in the car that committed the drive-by shooting as Douglas-ayala and his brother, Alejandro Manuel Douglas, 33, of South Carolina.
Ramsey said that in the early morning of May 18, Chico Police — with the assistance of the Butte County Sheriff ’s Office and several other local agencies — served two search warrants in Hamilton City. Castrejon-sanchez and Douglas-ayala were known to have been there before and after the shooting. Officers arrested Douglasayala after service of the search warrants.
Ramsey said investigators were able to build a timeline of the events leading up to the shooting, which showed that Castrejonsanchez, Douglas-ayala and Douglas went to the apartment complex party on Columbus Avenue at approximately 1:26 a.m. Witnesses said Douglas was seen with a firearm in his waistband and the party hosts told his group to leave.
Ramsey said the three men — who are believed to be members of a local criminal street gang — began arguing with another group of partygoers, some of whom were members of a rival gang. Ramsey said members of each group were shouting derogatory “gang” terms at each other and making gang signs with their hands. At some point, detectives believe Douglas had his firearm taken from him, and the three suspects left in the rental car at approximately 2:24 a.m.
Ramsey said evidence showed the trio drove to Hamilton City, obtained additional firearms and immediately drove back to the same party to retaliate. Surveillance footage also apparently shows the vehicle driving down Columbus Avenue past the party, turning around, then stopping in the street in front of the party, which had spilled out into the parking lot.
As soon as the car stopped, multiple gunshots were fired from the car into the crowd, hitting several victims, including Stubbe. The car then fled the scene and ended up crashing at the intersection of Meridian and Wilson Landing roads.
Ramsey said investigators believe that the shooting suspects were deliberately targeting the group of rival gang members with whom they had been fighting earlier that morning in an attempt to retaliate, but they also struck numerous innocent victims.