Relative of Dos Palos homicide victim detained following chase that ended on HWY 99, police say

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A welfare check turned into a homicide investigation.

Dos Palos Police went to a home on Santos Street near Highway 33 just after 2 p.m. Tuesday.

When they arrived, they found an elderly man dead inside.

"It was just a heinous crime. No family member should have to endure that or person," Dos Palos Police Chief Dayton Snyder.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was found in the living room with visible injuries.

"He did have visible injuries that were heinous and gruesome," Snyder said.

No one else was in the home when police arrived, but they quickly identified a "person of interest" who left the scene.

Action News has learned they have family ties to the victim.

"The person of interest that we haven't talked to was a family member who resided in the home, and we need to talk to him to find out what his side of the story is," Snyder said.

After following several leads, police were able to locate the car matching that of the person of interest on Wednesday.

When they tried to pull him over, the 43-year-old man led officers on a high-speed chase from the North Valley to Fresno, ending on Highway 99 near Clinton Avenue.

Police say the pursuit reached speeds of up to 120 miles per hour.

"He was located in the area of Highway 152 and Lincoln, right on the edge of Madera County and Merced County," Chief Snyder said. "Once we had confirmation that it was the vehicle that we were looking at and a solo occupant in the vehicle. We did a comparison and believed that that was the person of interest that we were looking for."

The disturbing details of the homicide are sending shockwaves through the small North Valley community.

"It's devastating, especially in this area because it's so quiet. Sometimes, you don't even know you have a neighbor. That's how quiet it is here," Dos Palos resident Manuel Rodriguez said.

"It's been very peaceful. The people are very friendly. They wave to each other. They say hello to each other. A lot of them know each other, so it's like 'What?!' We can't believe it actually happened," Dos Palos resident Margarita Rodriguez said.

The person of interest was taken to a hospital after being bitten by a K9 during his arrest.

No charges have been filed yet.

Police say there is no ongoing threat to the public and are calling this an isolated incident.

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