- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Middletown homicide investigation continues; suspect in custody, victim identified
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Sheriff's detectives are continuing the investigation into a fatal shooting in Middletown on Wednesday night, with the man authorities believe is responsible for the homicide booked into the jail early Thursday morning.
Javier Martinez Cachu, 20, of Clearlake Park is being held on $1 million bail at the Lake County Jail on charges of murder, attempted murder and assault with a firearm, according to booking records.
Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office identified the man who was fatally shot as Luis Pimentel-Arroyo, 25, Middletown.
Pimentel-Arroyo was the driver of a vehicle originally believed to have been involved in a crash on Butts Canyon Road near Middletown at around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Firefighters arriving at the scene found he had died of his injuries.
A female passenger in the vehicle suffered minor injuries and was treated at an area hospital. Brooks said her name is not yet being released.
Martinez Cachu turned himself in at the Clearlake Police Department shortly after 10:15 p.m. Wednesday after fleeing the scene of the shooting. At that point, sheriff's deputies had been looking for him in the Clearlake area, as Lake County News has reported.
Jail records showed he was arrested at 1:45 a.m. Thursday and booked just after 7 a.m.
Brooks said the investigation is ongoing, with detectives working on Thursday to interview people.
Because of the investigation's active nature, Brooks said certain information was not yet being released, including the specific kind of firearm Martinez Cachu is believed to have used in the shooting.
Authorities on Thursday also were not yet prepared to speak to the motive behind the shooting, Brooks said.
Butts Canyon Road, from Highway 29 to the Napa County line, had been closed shortly after the shooting while the scene was processed. The Department of Public Works reported that it reopened on Thursday morning, and Brooks confirmed that all evidence had been cleared from the scene and stored.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said that because Martinez Cachu was arrested early Thursday morning, his office has a time period of two court days in which to arraign Martinez Cachu, meaning that at the latest he would have to appear in court next Tuesday.
However, Hinchcliff said he will move the arraignment in the case up to Monday if reports from the sheriff's office are available at that time.
Hinchcliff said there are no records of previous criminal cases in Lake County involving Martinez Cachu.
Email Elizabeth Larson at [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.