Man mourns loss of neighbor who was murdered in Tulare home

TULARE, Calif. (KFSN) -- Tulare Police continue to investigate their third homicide of the year after a man was found dead inside his home- just minutes from the police department.

The South Valley man was 48-year-old Travis Womack. His body was found just after midnight on Wednesday.

RELATED: 48-year-old man found dead inside Tulare home, 2 men arrested

"It's sad that I lost someone that was actually a good person. He's a very nice man, very kind hearted, and very responsible. You seem to have taken care of things, it's a very sad tragedy," says Elijah Jones about his neighbor Travis Womack.

Womack lived in a quiet area on R Street near Elm Avenue in Tulare.

The 48 year old was found murdered inside his home just after midnight on Wednesday.

Moments before, Jones had called 911, after hearing someone on his property.

"He came into the backyard and we confronted him at our front gate because he seemed suspicious. That's when I alerted the authorities, they came in next thing you know it was more than what I assumed," recalls Jones.

When police arrived, they found two men, 26-year-old Steven Elizondo of Delano and 48-year-old Sakuma Lockhard of Tulare.

"They noticed they were acting suspicious and they also noticed that the subjects had blood on their clothing and there was blood on the ground," describes Sgt. Rosa Moreno with the Tulare Police Department.

Officers followed the trail of blood to a home where they found Womack's body.

Both Elizondo and Lockhard were taken into custody on homicide charges.

Investigators found Lockhard and the victim actually knew each other from childhood.

"When things like this happen it impacts the entire community as a whole so from the Tulare Police Department standpoint our heart goes out to victims in the families of any type of violent crime," expresses Sgt. Moreno.

The Tulare police department says the investigation is very early, and they are asking anyone with information to come forward.

The district attorney's office plans to review the reports and then make a decision about filing charges.

Anyone with information can contact Detective Dan Scott at (559)685-2300 x 2153 or Sgt Eddie Hinojosa at (559)684-4390. You can choose to remain anonymous.

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