UPDATE 7/30/2021 — The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has identified the victim of last week’s fatal shooting on Bell Springs Road as 27-year-old Edgar Alejandro Becerra-Almaraz from Rohnert Park.
Oscar Alvarez Ruiz, the man accused of killing Becerra-Almaraz, was initially arraigned Tuesday, July 27. Deputy Public Defender Anthony Adams said via email that his client did not enter a plea at that time, but is tentatively scheduled to return to court at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 5 for plea entry.
An autopsy of Bercerra-Almaraz was scheduled for July 28, but no additional information has been released.
MENDOCINO Co., 7/26/2021 — The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has identified one of the two people detained in connection with Friday’s homicide on Bell Springs Road as 23-year-old Oscar Alvarez Ruiz from Rohnert Park.
Ruiz has been booked on suspicion of murder, according to Capt. Greg Van Patten and remains in custody. The other individual detained near the scene of the crime has not yet been publicly identified, and no pending charges against that individual have been announced.
Deputies were called to a property in the 59000 block of Bell Springs Road, north of Laytonville and east of Leggett, around 1:45 a.m. Friday on report of shots fired. They found the remains of an adult Latino male with an apparent gunshot wound to the leg around 2:54 a.m., as well as greenhouses and an undisclosed number of cannabis plants.
During a search of the farm, they allegedly observed an individual running downhill, away from the crime scene — and Ruiz was detained around 6 a.m. after multi-hour search with assistance from a California Highway Patrol helicopter out of Redding.
The decedent has been identified only as a Latino male adult, and his name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Deputies say an autopsy has been scheduled for Wednesday.
Today’s update from the MCSO has been included below:
| MEDIA ADVISORY/NEWS RELEASE |
DATE: “July 26, 2021” FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Incident Number: 2021-18270 Crime/Incident: Homicide Investigation Location: 50000 block of Bell Springs Road in Leggett, CA Date of Incident: 07-23-2021 Time: 1:30 AM Victim(s): Adult Male Suspect(s): Oscar Alvarez Ruiz (23 year-old male from Rohnert Park, CA) Written By: Captain Gregory L. Van Patten #1184 Synopsis: UPDATED PRESS RELEASE 07-26-2021 @ 1:30 PM: On 07-23-2021 Sheriff’s Detectives established probable cause to arrest Oscar Alvarez Ruiz for the death of the adult male associated with this reported incident. Alvarez Ruiz was one of two individuals detained on the property several hours after the Deputies arrival in respond to the reported shooting incident. Alvarez Ruiz was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where he was to be held on a No Bail status. The motive and circumstances of incident are still under investigation by Sheriff’s Detectives. The identity of the deceased adult male is not being released, pending positive identification and notification to the next of kin. A forensic autopsy on the deceased adult male is scheduled for 07-28-2021. ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASE: On 07-23-2021 at 1:30 AM the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center received a call of a potential shooting at a property located in the 50000 block of Bell Springs Road in Leggett, California. While Deputies were responding to the location, the caller reported hearing gunshots and subsequently found an adult male with an apparent gunshot wound. It was also reported the adult male was not breathing. Deputies arrived at the location at approximately 2:54 AM and located a deceased Hispanic adult male who appeared to have a gunshot wound to the leg. Deputies also noticed the presence of growing marijuana in greenhouses and in outdoor settings on the property. A protective sweep of the property was conducted in an attempt to locate any additional victim(s) of the shooting. Deputies requested the assistance of air resources from the California Highway Patrol. At approximately 3:57 AM a Deputy noticed the presence of an individual running downhill on the property which prompted a search for this individual. At approximately 6:00 AM, CHP Helicopter H14 from Redding (CA) was able to arrive on scene and assist with the search efforts. During this time H14 was able to locate two individuals who then were detained by Deputies on the ground. During this search effort a Deputy sustained a leg injury from a fall and had to be evacuated by ambulance to a local hospital for medical evaluation/treatment for a significant but non-life threatening injury. Sheriff’s Detectives were summoned to the scene and are conducting follow-up investigations into the incident. Personnel from the County of Mendocino Marijuana Enforcement Team (COMMET) and Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force (MMCTF) were also summoned to the scene to investigation the legality of the marijuana growing operation found on the property. No additional information is available at this time due to the active ongoing investigations. Another press release will be issued when additional information becomes available that can be releasable to the public. Approved by: Captain Gregory L. Van Patten #1184 |
I take the changing of the name of Fort Bragg personally. Fort Bragg is the town that I grew up in. Fort Bragg is my heritage and I am proud of my heritage and being part of Fort Bragg. We never had slaves, nor did anyone else have slaves in Fort Bragg.
Changing the name of Fort Bragg would be like someone asking me to change my name because some long lost relative had done something negative in the past. Since I had nothing to do with that long lost relative and since it was way in past I certainly would not be willing to change my name because someone found my name to be the same as that long lost relative. The same principle applies here. Braxton Bragg died in 1869 a very very long time ago. He never set foot in Fort Bragg so he was never part of the people or the community of Fort Bragg. Many people did not even know who Braxton Bragg was. He was never honored nor was he celebrated. Fort Bragg did not ever recognize Braxton Bragg in any manner or fashion.
Fort Bragg DOES represent an upstanding and rich cultural community that has existed for over 100 years. Fort Bragg represents the industrious logging and fishing people of this special coastal community. It is these people that we wish the honor.. It is the community that they created called Fort Bragg that we wish to honor.
So when you attempt to change the name of Fort Bragg you are insulting me and you are insulting my family and the families of many of my friends who made a Fort Bragg their home. You are directly insulting them.
Our history is a proud history and I will not let any supposed ‘cancel culturist’ destroy my heritage and my fond memories and destroy a town that I am proud to call my home.
We were not part of a time in history that you choose to resurrect to damn the name of a town that had no connection to events of the past. You are denigrating and disparaging those honorable men and women that created and built the beautiful community of Fort Bragg. Leave these people alone and leave Fort Bragg alone.
The past is exactly that… the past.
Leave the past in the past and move forward with your life. Don’t attempt to destroy the lives of the great residents of Fort Bragg because you found a man named Braxton Bragg that died over 100!years ago, never set foot once in Fort Bragg and had been involved he Confederate army This man is LONG DEAD and does not now nor ever has represented the values of the people of Fort Bragg.
Fort Bragg DOES represent ME and my family and many other respectable people of the Mendocino Coast.
So instead of insulting the people of Fort Bragg and their families and people that built Fort Bragg into the spectacular town and community that it is today I ask that you let the past go, celebrate Fort Bragg for the wonderful town and people that it is today.
Don’t whitewash history, learn from it and move on, move forward, but above all don’t insult me, as I take such insults very seriously. I will defend my town and I will defend my towns people and I will defend the my long family heritage in the beautiful town called Fort Bragg.
LEAVE FORT BRAGG ALONE!!!