- Lake County News reports
- Posted On
Clearlake Oaks man among suspects charged in December 2021 attempted murder case
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said Roberto Chavez-Souza, 28, of Clearlake Oaks and Jose Panduro-Rodriguez, 22, of Mexico are being held for an assault of a 70-year-old Albion man in December 2021.
The report said authorities are still attempting to locate 31-year-old Jose Morfin Aguilar of Santa Rosa.
Lt. Andrew Porter said that at 1:06 a.m. Dec. 3, 2021, Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to a report of an assault with a firearm in the 28000 block of Albion Ridge Road in Albion.
The reporting party was able to call 911 even though he had been shot by unknown assailants through his bedroom window, Porter said. The reporting party also advised that he had returned fire with his own firearm after being shot.
Deputies responded to the area with lights and sirens. Prior to the deputies' arrival, a family member of the victim called and stated that he was now with the victim and at least one suspect was observed fleeing on foot downhill into a wooded area.
Sheriff's deputies from all areas of the county responded to Albion as there was a reported suspect, armed with a firearm, in the woods near the victim's residence.
Once there were sufficient deputies on scene, an Adventist Health Mendocino Coast ambulance responded to provide medical treatment to the victim. Porter said the victim was transported to the hospital where he was later transferred to an out of county hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound to the head.
The victim survived the incident with moderate to major injuries sustained, Porter said.
Porter said Mendocino County Sheriff's detectives responded to the scene and assumed the investigation, while patrol deputies continued their search efforts for the suspects.
At approximately 9:30 a.m., deputies located two male subjects hiding in the brush nearby. Porter said the subjects had no reasonable explanation as to why they were hiding in the brush near the shooting scene and they were found to be from out of county.
Deputies located a firearm, face mask and latex gloves also in the brush near where the suspects were located, Porter said.
Porter said the two suspects, Chavez-Souza and Morfin-Aguilar, were ultimately booked into the Mendocino County Jail for attempted murder and conspiracy.
Both suspects were ultimately released from custody pending additional investigation surrounding the incident, Porter said.
In May of 2022, after additional investigations had been conducted surrounding the circumstances of this case, as well as receiving additional evidence implicating Panduro-Rodriguez, felony arrest warrants were issued for all three suspects, according to Porter.
Porter said Chavez-Souza was arrested in July of 2023 and has been in custody at the Mendocino County Jail since that time.
Jose Morfin-Aguilar has an outstanding felony warrant for his arrest for this incident.
Porter said Panduro-Rodriguez, was arrested at the United States Port of Entry by the Customs and Border Patrol in San Diego in October of 2023 on his warrant and unrelated federal charges.
Panduro-Rodriguez was released from federal custody and subsequently booked into the Mendocino County Jail on Oct. 31, Porter said.