CA CA - Michael Hunter, 24, Talmage, 9 Dec 2009

Michael Anthony HUNTER

BASICS:
Date of birth: 3 September 1984
Place of birth: Ukiah CA 95482
Education: Shasta College, Redding, CA
Marriage: To Caitlyn, in Fort Jones CA,on 13 February 2006
THE MURDER:
Hunter moved back to the ancestral home his great-grandfather had built outside Ukiah.
On 9 December 2009, Hunter, his wife and child, and a roommate were asleep in Hunter's home in the 2400 block Mill Creek Rd, Talmage, CA 95481. At about 3 AM, armed invaders pushed into the house; they were apparently after the large quantity of processed salable marijuana in the residence.
Hunter tried to face down the intruders, although he was unarmed. They shot him and fled.
LE was called by a female resident in the home (presumably Caitlyn). The response by Mendocino County Sheriff's Office deputies, California Highway Patrol, and EMTs found Hunter still alive. He was transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center, and died there.
LE concluded there were at least two people involved in the shooting.
By 10 December 2009, Sheriff's detectives concluded 37-year-old Ukiah resident Joseph Ray Starrett was a POI in the homicide. At about 9:30 PM, the detectives discovered Starrett was visiting a home in the 500 block South Harrison St, Fort Bragg, CA. Accompanied by officers from the Fort Bragg Police Department, they arrested Starrett.

Persons with information on this homicide are urged to call the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Tipline, 707-234-2100. They may also be contacted via email to MCSO Investigative Services at barneys@co.mendocino.ca.us,or at 951 Low Gap Road, Ukiah CA 95482.

Sources:
Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, 15 December 2009, http://www.pressdemocrat.com/csp/mediapool/sites/PressDemocrat/News/story.csp?cid=2282690&sid=555&fid=181
Lake County News (LaCoNews website), http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php...talmage-mans-murder&catid=1:latest&Itemid=197
Ukiah Daily Journal, UDJ Obits, http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/uk...y.aspx?n=michael-anthony-hunter&pid=137180602
Ukiah Daily Journal, 10 and 11 December 2009, http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we...rpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no

Joseph Roy Starrett and “John Doe” POI, Mendocino Cty
(In the case of Michael Anthony Hunter http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...docino-Cty-9-Dec-2009&p=12849884#post12849884)

On 15 December 2009, Starrett was named as a POI in the homicide of Michael Anthony Hunter on 9 December. He was also booked for suspicion of possession of a firearm by a felon on this occasion.

At that time, LE decided there were two assailants in the Hunter homicide. Starrett already had a violent history. In March 1999, he violated a domestic violence restraining order when he attempted to ram his ex-wife's car with his truck to prevent her arriving at the local police station. On 30 October 1999, during a beating Starrett pile-drove his 17-year-old girlfriend headfirst into a driveway, fracturing her skull and damaging her spine. She would eventually recover from her paralysis, but was left traumatized.

Starrett told his probation officer that memories of the assaults were “fogged” by his daily methamphetamine abuse. The plea did him no good. On 7 July 2000,after dismissal of some felony charges against him, Starrett pled no contest to “assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury with a special allegation of infliction of great bodily injury, and making terrorist threats.” He was sentenced to 6 years 8 months imprisonment and fined over $40,000.

No further mention was made of the unknown accomplice.

Sources: Ukiah Daily Journal, 2 November 1999: https://www.newspapers.com/image/8194051
UDJ, 19 July 2000: https://www.newspapers.com/image/1188357
Lake County News, 10 December 2009: http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11689:regional-investigators-seek-person-of-interest-in-talmage-murder-&catid=1:lat
LaCoNews, 11 December 2009: http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php...-of-interest-in-talmage-shooting-&catid=1:lat
Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, 15 December 2009: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/csp/me...at/News/story.csp?cid=2282690&sid=555&fid=181

Note to Tricia: move thread to CA - CA - Michael Hunter, 24, Talmage, 9 Dec 2009 in Cold Case homicides.