Suspects identified in deadly pot-related Santa Rosa area home invasion shootings

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man shot and killed in his home Thursday morning by masked intruders as a 54-year-old Santa Rosa business owner.|

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man shot and killed in his home Thursday morning by masked intruders as 54-year-old Jose Luis Torres.

Torres owned the Melcon Lane residence - off Todd Road in a rural stretch southwest of Santa Rosa - with his wife Adriana Pereyra-Torres, according to Sonoma County property records. The couple also own and operate Advance Appliance Services, a Santa Rosa-area appliance repair business.

The five people suspected of storming into Torres’ home and gunning him down were also named by the Sheriff’s Office Friday. The four men and one woman are suspects in another home-invasion shooting that occurred around 2 hours before the Thursday morning slaying.

The four men were arrested Thursday. Tyrone Mcrae, 25, of Jackson, Mississippi; Jonathan Jackson, 19, of Richmond Hill, New York; Mussie Himed, 27, of Santa Rosa; and David Ealey, 23, of Richmond, Virginia were all being held in the Sonoma County Jail without bail on suspicion of murder, robbery, kidnapping, false imprisonment , according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Three of the men were arrested after a car chase in Vallejo around 9 a.m. Thursday and Mcrae was taken into custody at a Motel 6 on Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa around 5 p.m.

Mcrae is suspected of eluding capture by a SWAT team search Thursday in Vallejo by paying a stranger for a ride to Santa Rosa, said sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Spencer Crum.

The female suspect, Amber Hembree, 20, of Richmond, Virginia, an alleged Crip gang member, remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous, according to authorities.

The group is suspected of storming two homes before sunrise and demanding money and marijuana from the residents, Crum said Thursday.

The first home invasion occurred around 4:22 a.m. at a residence on the 1900 block of Fulton Road - not far from the Northwest Prep Charter School on Piner Road - where one man was shot in the arm, according to authorities and witnesses. He was taken to the hospital and was expected to survive.

No evidence of drug operations or other illicit activity was found at the home, Crum said. It was unclear why the house was targeted.

In the second incident, about 6:45 a.m., the five allegedly forced their way into Torres’ rural home again demanding pot and cash.

Torres was shot multiple times, according to initial dispatch reports. The Sheriff’s Office hasn’t confirmed the number of shots fired or specified how many times Torres was hit.

First responders performed CPR on Torres but he died of his wounds at the scene, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies found evidence of pot cultivation and sales at the home, Crum said. The five suspects also allegedly stole weapons from the home, he said.

In October, someone lodged a complaint with the Sonoma County Permit and Resources Management Department about the property, alleging it appeared there were unpermitted cargo containers, a greenhouse and cannabis cultivation on site, according to a department spokeswoman. County staff saw no marijuana on the property during an inspection in November. In January, a resident at the property applied for permits to legitimize the structures.

You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nrahaim.

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