Tulare County Sheriff’s Department arrest three for Ivanhoe murder, two others for car jacking in Woodlake
TULARE COUNTY – Tulare County homicide detectives made quick work out of a murder and car jacking that happened last Monday.
According to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, they responded to a shooting at 11:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 16 at the 32000 block of road 156 in Ivanhoe. When deputies arrived, they found Ivan Ortiz, 19, from Delano, shot and killed.
Over the next day and a half, detectives determined that five suspects were involved in a “crime spree” in Woodlake leading up to the shooting. On Thursday, Aug. 19 the sheriff’s department announced they arrested Joshua Davidson, 23, from Visalia; Alexander Ceballos, 24, from Porterville; Jacob Enriquez, 25, from Tulare; Joshua Uribe, 18, from Goshen; and Alfredo Gaona, 19, from Visalia.
The sheriff’s department stated that the five men started in Ivanhoe where they committed a strong-armed robbery on a victim sitting his car. They then drove to Woodlake where a victim reported the men pulled out a gun. From there they moved to another area of Woodlake where they carjacked someone at gunpoint. Deputies tracked down Uribe and Gaona in the stolen truck and arrested them for carjacking and armed robbery.
While they were being arrested, deputies were dispatched to Ivanhoe for the murder of Ivan Ortiz. On Tuesday, Aug. 17, and Thursday, Aug. 19, Davidson, Ceballos and Enriquez were arrested for Ortiz’s murder. The Sheriff’s Department stated that search warrants were served at the homes of the three suspects and all three homes revealed evidence linking the suspects to the crimes.
The department states that this is still an active investigation. Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact Sergeant Bryan Clower and/or Detective Greg May with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit at (559) 733-6218, or you can remain anonymous by calling or texting (559) 725-4194 or through email at [email protected]
Sheriff’s Log
Tuesday, Aug. 17
At approximately 10 a.m, deputies and officers with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife responded to two bear cubs repeatedly being seen walking in the roadway in the Three Rivers area. Deputies received reports that numerous people were passing by and trying to feed and pet the bear cubs for the past three days. The bear cubs were found, safely captured and assessed. During the assessment of the cubs, and based on their age and weight, it was determined it was highly likely they were too young to be away from their mother and may not survive on their own. The whereabouts of the mother bear was unknown and the bear cubs were later transported to a rehabilitation facility in San Diego by the California Department of Fish and Wild life, where they will be cared for and later released back into the wild. Please remember to never approach or feed wild animals.
