Suspect in Livermore fatal shooting connected to Fresno homicide

LIVERMORE, Calif. -- A suspect in a fatal shooting Friday evening in Livermore is also wanted in connection with a shooting inside a Fresno restaurant last month, according to police.

A SWAT team stormed a West Oakland home on Sunday morning looking for 18-year-old Jason Alexander Brown but couldn't find him. He remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous, police said.

Brown is suspected to have shot two men in their 20s sitting in a car in the CVS pharmacy parking lot at 1500 First St. in Livermore at 6:05 p.m. Friday, according to Livermore police. The driver was killed and the passenger was taken to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.

Police have identified the victim who was killed as Jose A. Mendoza, 32, out of Turlock, authorities say. The second victim is still in critical condition at an undisclosed hospital and has been identified as Ulizes Benitez, 22, also of Turlock.

Two suspects fled the shooting in a black 2006 BMW 325i with red racing stripes and California license plate number 5PLR682, Livermore police said.

Investigators identified Brown, an Oakland resident, as the suspect in the shooting. Police surrounded and searched his home on Center Street in West Oakland early Sunday morning but he was not home at the time.

Brown is also suspected of killing a 27-year-old man inside a Fresno Thai restaurant on Sept. 12, Fresno police Lt. Burke Farrah said today.

Albert Thao was killed and another man was wounded by gunfire as they were eating in the MeKhong Restaurant, Farrah said. A suspect, later identified as Brown, was seen leaving the scene in a gray Dodge Charger.

Fresno police investigators identified Brown as a suspect and obtained a warrant for his arrest. They connected him to the Bay Area and have been in touch with Livermore police investigators, Farrah said.

Anyone who sees Brown has been asked to call 911 immediately.