Deputies identify man killed at Merced County gas station; 1 arrested

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Merced County sheriff's deputies have arrested a man for murder in a shootout right outside a convenience store Sunday night.

It's not the first time police have arrested the suspect for murder.

A small memorial now marks the spot where Mark Strauss, Jr., was killed.

On Sunday night, shells littered this area and neighbors hid wherever they could from the gunfire.

Darrell Davis was just finishing some repairs on a car Sunday evening.

"I parked the car over here and I just hear a whole bunch of shooting," Davis said. "A whole bunch of shooting. I've never heard this much in my life."

Instinct kicked in and protected Davis.

"The bullets were flying as I'm over here by the car," Davis said. "I just started getting down below the car because they were flying over the top of my head."

Sheriff's deputies collected dozens of shells outside the Shop N Go where Mark Strauss, Jr., was gunned down.

The 30-year-old father recently launched a music career using the stage name Buddha, and he was at the store to record a video.

Deputies say bullets flew everywhere - also hitting cars, a house, and parts of the convenience store.

"It is very surprising that people walking around the area, maybe kids playing outside, did not get shot also," said Deputy Daryl Allen, the public information officer for the Merced County Sheriff's Office.

Detectives identified 37-year-old Marcus Osby as a suspect and arrears him at a hospital where he was getting treatment for gunshot wounds of his own.

Osby was also arrested for a 2007 murder, but prosecutors dropped the case against him when they had problems with witnesses.

But even his arrest hasn't given neighbors back a sense of safety after the shooting.

"Don't you think we should be concerned?" Davis asked an Action News crew.

"I'm putting up cameras and I've never had a camera once," said neighbor Tony Norman. "Now everybody has cameras."

"I got video all around my house," Davis said.

Detectives are still working to get the complete picture of what happened out here Sunday.

They're checking surveillance video and hoping witnesses will call them - even anonymously - to share what they saw. Their number is (209)-385-7472.