On Monday, November 16th, 2020, at approximately 3:40 pm, the Turlock Police Department received multiple calls reporting that a male that had been shot multiple times in front of Liberty Tax Service located at 1607 Lander Ave. Officers responded along with American Medical Response and the Turlock Fire Department with Battalion 4, Squad 32, and Engine 34. One caller stated that the victim was unconscious but breathing and another stated that the victim was conscious but having trouble staying conscious.
Officers arrived on scene within minutes and began rendering first aid to the victim, awaiting firefighters and paramedics’ arrival. When paramedics arrived on scene, they took over first aid and immediately placed the victim into their ambulance to start transporting him to a local hospital accompanied by two Turlock firefighters.
Detectives from both the Investigations Unit and Special Investigations Unit were called out to conduct an investigation. They remained on scene with patrol officers for about three hours canvassing the area for any other evidence they may find or witnesses who may have seen what happened. The victim’s vehicle, a white Toyota SUV, which the victim was shot just outside of, was towed as evidence and a search warrant was authored in hopes of finding more evidence inside the vehicle. The victim, who was identified as Joel Lopez Guzman, 39, from Turlock, succumbed to his injuries later at the hospital.
Throughout the course of the investigation, detectives were able to identify the suspect, Jeramie Hoover, 22, of Turlock. Detectives authored an arrest warrant for Hoover, which was approved. On January 7th, at approximately 3:15 pm, Hoover was located by the Okmulgee Police Department in Oklahoma. He was booked into their jail and will be extradited back to Stanislaus County soon.
The investigation remains on-going. Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Detective Jason Tosta at 209-664-7324 or by email at JTosta@turlock.ca.us. You can also leave an anonymous tip at the Turlock Police Department’s tip line at 209-668-5550 extension 6780 or by email at tpdtipline@turlock.ca.us.
