Four years after a mass murder at a marijuana growing operation in a small, rural town in Southern California, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 3 revealed that it has identified three suspects and a motive. The sheriff is asking the public for help in bringing the case to a close.
On Sept. 7, 2020, seven people, all of Laotian descent, were shot and killed in what authorities described as a home invasion robbery at an illicit marijuana operation in Aguanga. Authorities said they believe that the suspects were after cash on the premises, as more than 1,000 marijuana plants and several hundred pounds of processed marijuana remained at the site after the incident.
Six of the victims died at the property, while one woman died later at the hospital.
Law enforcement has not fully confirmed its identification of all of the victims and has been unable to contact the next of kin for multiple victims in either Laos or the United States. Officials have asked the public to come forward with any information on the victims’ identities.
The sheriff’s office is looking at at least three suspects and believes that the massacre involved gang members of Laotian descent from the San Diego area. The three suspects were at the scene for at least 15 minutes. They are also persons of interest in other violent crimes against Laotian people in the Riverside and San Diego area.
Sergeant Jarred Bishop, the master investigator in the Sheriff’s Office Central Homicide Unit, said deputies did not find any cash at the location—set in a rural, unincorporated part of the city—leading investigators to believe that the incident was a robbery.
Aguanga is a town of about 600 people located in the Inland Empire about 18 miles east of Temecula and 22 miles south-southeast of Hemet.
There were multiple survivors at the location in and around the trailer where the Labor Day murders occurred. According to earlier statements made by Bianco, more than 20 people resided at the property, which included a dilapidated two-bedroom house and mobile home.
“We have identified several persons of interest who we believe committed this crime and those who may have knowledge,” Bianco said.
The case is more challenging because it involves crimes committed against illegal immigrants, in particular, victims of human trafficking, which investigators believe occurred in this case, he said.
Bishop said investigators have collected tens of thousands of pages of digital media evidence related to the case, including cellphone and social media records.
A large number of the records were in Laotian, and it has taken time to translate them. Technology investigators have nonetheless identified several records and phone numbers that they believe are pertinent to the investigation, Bishop said.
Throughout the course of the investigation, investigators followed up on hundreds of leads and interviewed dozens of people.
Investigators say they are aware of the reluctance of illegal immigrants to assist law enforcement. “However, you must help us so we can help you,” Bianco said.
