A tip from public led Fresno police to arrest in domestic violence shooting deaths

A citizen’s tips led to the arrest of Deandre Foster, the man police believe responsible for the shooting deaths of two women in central Fresno on Friday.

The 24-year-old was arrested on Sunday by members of the Fresno Police Department’s Street Violence Bureau plainclothes tactical team, the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium, the Central California Auto Theft Team and the Major Narcotics Unit after a city-wide search. He is currently in custody and the case will be filed with the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday, according to Capt. Mindy Casto, the department’s investigation division commander.

“We knew who committed the crime,” Casto said Monday in an interview at police headquarters.

“Without the help of the public, we would have spent numerous more hours tracking him down.”

Foster has a history with guns and with violence. Prior to his arrest on Sunday, Foster had been on probation and been arrested several times (including recently) for a series of crimes, Casto said. He had convictions for felony assault on a family member and being a felon in possession of firearm.

He is also a known gang member.

“It would appear he doesn’t have much fear of consequences,” Casto said.

Police believe Foster pulled a gun and shot 21-year-old Charlotte Ethridge and 50-year-old Michelle Johnson at an apartment complex on Olive Avenue near First Street after becoming “enraged” during a domestic incident, Casto said.

The gun has not been found.

The investigation is ongoing and investigators aren’t ready to disclose what may have caused the incident.

Foster and Ethridge had been dating for several months, Casto said. There is no record of prior domestic disturbances between them.

Children present

The victims were not related by blood, but Johnson had been Ethridge’s foster mother and was a neighbor, police said. It appears the pair were still close. Ethridge herself was a mother of two children, ages 2 and 9 months, according to police. Both, as well as a third child, are believed to have been inside the apartment at the time shooting, Casto said, though she is unsure what, if anything, they experienced.

This was the second fatal domestic violence case in Fresno in 2021, matching the total number of such cases for all of last year. While the department has been working in recent weeks to curb gun violence and keep criminals from having guns, stopping domestic violence isn’t as easy to control.

“Domestic violence is one of the more difficult crimes to prevent,” Casto said.

Police believe there may be more witnesses and are asking anyone with information to contact the Fresno Police Department at 559-621-2448 or 559-621-2407, or Crime Stoppers at 559-498-STOP to remain anonymous.

This story was originally published April 12, 2021 at 2:40 PM.