Detectives from the Susanville Police Department have arrested one man, and are looking for an additional suspect, in the February 2014 shooting death of Susanville resident Cedric Erwin Trejo and the attempted murder of Nathan Duane Wilson. The early morning shooting in the 200-block of Martha Street in Susanville left one man dead and sent another to the hospital for treatment of multiple gunshot wounds.
On Thursday, January 16th, detectives from the Susanville Police Department, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Glenn County Sheriff’s Office and the Butte County Sheriff’s SWAT Team, and the California Highway Patrol arrested 26 year-old Ronald Jay Benjamin at a residence in a rural part of Glenn County for the homicide.
According to Susanville Police Chief Tom Downing, Benjamin has been living out of the area since the incident that took place last February. He was booked into the Glenn County jail on an arrest warrant issued out of the Lassen Superior Court and is being held on $1,500,000 bail.
Downing also explained that a second suspect has been identified and is being sought at this time. The name of that suspect is being withheld pending arrest.
“The Susanville Police Department sought the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this investigation,” said Downing. “The relationship with the FBI, through our joint participation on the FBI Safe Streets Task Force greatly assisted in locating and apprehending Benjamin.”
“Cases of this magnitude take a great deal of time and resources to investigate. The detectives continued to investigate leads in this case for several months, and eventually received a breakthrough. Through the tenacity of the SPD detectives, we were able to develop the solid leads that resulted in the arrest of Benjamin today. That is exceptional police work from all the agencies involved.”
The case has been referred to the Lassen County District Attorney for prosecution.
You can read details of the shooting by following this link to our original coverage from last February.
