MENDOCINO CO., 7/24/26 — A third suspect was arrested Thursday in the investigation into the homicide of a Covelo woman, and Mendocino County sheriff’s investigators are looking to arrest a juvenile believed to be involved, the Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
The death of Josepha Littlewolf Basurto, 31, was ruled a homicide after an autopsy last week determined she died of a gunshot wound to the torso, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Basurto was found dead on July 9 at an illegal marijuana cultivation site in a truck that had been shot several times, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Jesus Sosa, 35, was arrested in Ukiah on Thursday on a warrant for suspected personal use of a firearm during a felony resulting in death, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Sosa was previously arrested on suspicion of being involved with the marijuana cultivation where Basurto was found. However, he was released on July 13 after the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office didn’t file charges.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, their investigation revealed that two brothers who were staying at the illicit marijuana cultivation site were allegedly involved in the homicide. The investigation also determined that the father of the two brothers drove to the site of the homicide on July 9 and picked up his two sons from the scene and later left Mendocino County.
Sheriff’s officials said Elias Juarez Garcia, 44, and one of his sons, Elias Garcia Acosta, 22, were arrested on July 17 in San Bernardino County with the help of that county’s Sheriff’s Office. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office is still looking for Juarez Garcia’s other son, a 17-year-old boy believed to be involved in the homicide.
The investigation is ongoing and the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office asked that anyone with information about this case call the dispatch center at 707-463-4086 or leave an anonymous tip at 707-234-2100.