UPDATE: Two SJ valley men arrested after neighborhood fight leads to fatal shooting

UPDATED: Friday, Nov. 16, 12 p.m.

See original story, photos, and videos below.

HEMET — Officials investigating yesterday’s fatal shooting of a man during a fight inside a residential Hemet neighborhood announced this afternoon the arrest of two suspects they say were involved in the fatal incident. Both have been booked into jail on various charges related to the incident, according to Hemet PD.

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The two men arrested have been identified as Darell Longshore, of San Jacinto, and Ferron Berry, of Hemet. Both men are 20-years-old.

Family and friends of the victim had previously identified 23-year-old Ceddrick Newton. Hemet PD confirmed today that after being shot, Newton was rushed to Hemet Valley Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Hemet Police Lt. Jeff Davis said this afternoon that Longshore was to be booked on suspicion of murder, two counts of attempted murder, a gun enhancement, and violation of probation.

According to Davis, Longshore was on probation for possession of a controlled substance while armed with a gun. His bail has been set at $1 million.

Ferron was to be booked on suspicion of being an accessory to the crime and his bail has been set at $10,000.

A jail records search yielded no additional information about the pair’s arrest or charges as they had not completed the booking process.

Hemet PD’s investigation is active and ongoing and officials have asked that anyone with information or videos regarding this incident to immediately contact Hemet Police Investigator Alvarez at (951)765-2426. Callers can remain anonymous.

 

Original story: Victim dead in Hemet after neighborhood fight leads to shooting

Correction: An early, breaking version of this story initially listed the victim as a teen. He has since been identified by family and Hemet PD as 23-year-old, Ceddrick Newton.

-TM

HEMET — A man was rushed to a Hemet hospital with CPR in progress after a fight between two people led to a shooting in a residential neighborhood this afternoon, Thursday, Nov. 15. According to family and friends the victim, now identified as Ceddrick Newton, was pronounced deceased by medical staff a short time after his arrival at an area hospital.

Sources indicate officers detained a suspect in connection with the deadly shooting, which happened just north of Sunnybank Dr. and Oak Tree Way, but Hemet PD has not yet confirmed if that person was arrested. Another man who was stopped a few minutes after the fatal shooting happened was determined to have not been involved and later released.

Hemet police officers were dispatched to the neighborhood around 4:15 p.m., after receiving multiple reports of shots fired with a male victim down on the ground. Frantic 911 callers reported the man had been shot and wasn’t breathing.

When officers arrived they found the victim still on the ground and unresponsive and saw an area resident was already performing CPR on the victim. Officers assisted with life-saving efforts which they continued until they were relieved by paramedics.

As officers at the scene quickly began gathering information about the alleged shooter, who was seen fleeing the area with the handgun possibly in a white Mercedes-Benz, AMR rushed the victim to Hemet Valley Hospital with a firefighter/paramedic on board continuing life-saving efforts.

Officials responding to the area quickly spotted a vehicle that matched the alleged suspects’ car, and after following the sedan several blocks conducted a felony traffic stop in the area of Sanderson and Fruitvale avenues. Once the driver was detained at gunpoint officers quickly determined the man was not involved in the shooting and he was subsequently released.

Officers quickly cordoned off the area of the shooting, establishing parts of the neighborhood as a crime scene. As officers were beginning their investigation, a row of witnesses – who all appeared to be around high school age – could be seen sitting along the curb of the sidewalk. Many were crying or consoling each other, while others sat staring at the ground with shocked looks on their faces.

A mobile command center was soon brought to the scene and members of the department’s forensic bureau were later seen photographing, documenting, and collecting evidence while detectives went door to door throughout the neighborhood searching for potential witnesses.

One witness to the shooting who refused to provide her name out of fear of retaliation later told RCNS the incident began as a verbal altercation between several of her friends and others she knows from school and from around the neighborhood.

Just as the argument was about to escalate into a physical fight between the victim and another person, one of the males who had been instigating the incident pulled out a handgun and fired three rounds at the victim, who initially fled up the street away from the gunfire.

The victim did not appear to be struck by the first three fired rounds according to the witness, and he quickly returned and began fighting with the same male, knocking him backwards onto the ground.

As the fight was about to continue on the ground, the person who fired the handgun ran back up to the victim and fired two more times, once at point-blank range. The first round appeared to strike the victim according to the witness, who said the gunman then fired at the victim again, as the mortally wounded man tried to run north on Sunnybank Dr., away from the gunfire.

As the gunman fled from the area, the victim managed to stumble a few dozen yards distance before he collapsed on the sidewalk. According to the witness, a nurse who lives in the area ran out from her home after hearing the gunshots and immediately began providing CPR to the victim while horrified witnesses called 911 to report the shooting.

Another person who lives near where the shooting happened later reported hearing several “booms” followed by kids “screaming and hollering.” He then heard what he believed sounded like two additional rounds fired, followed by more screaming. A moment later a car raced past and warned him to go into his home because someone was shooting at people.

Video filmed from the upstairs bedroom of a nearby home in the immediate aftermath of the shooting and later shared on social media showed a chaotic scene with a crowd of what appeared to be teenagers and young adults running around in the street around several vehicles that had their doors open.

In the short, nine-second video – which can be seen below – people are heard yelling and a person on the left of the screen can be seen providing CPR to the victim where he collapsed on the sidewalk.

Officials have not released any information about their active and ongoing investigation and as of this report officers are still at the scene where the shooting happened.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation or who witnessed the shooting and has not provided a statement to officers is encouraged to immediately contact Hemet PD at (951) 765-2400. Callers can remain anonymous.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information is available.

Click any image to open full-size gallery.

Hemet Valley Incidents video

Robert Carter/Public Safety Incidents video

John Strangis/RMG News video

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 14 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.