Fresno murder suspect tied to Sunnyvale shooting

One of two men sought in connection with a Fresno murder is believed to be linked to a deadly officer-involved shooting Saturday in Sunnyvale, police in the Bay Area city say.

Shawn Lamont Brown, 19, of Fresno is wanted on murder charges in connection with a July 28 shooting in east-central Fresno. Police say Brown and Lachance Larue Thomas, 19, shot Randell Correia, 29.

Brown also is being sought after the shooting in Sunnyvale in which police say an officer killed an armed man. Sunnyvale police went to a Motel 6 to investigate suspicious activity, possibly involving a minor, and made contact with three males in a Jaguar sedan. Two of the suspects ran.

A police spokesman said one of the men, identified as Allen Matthew Baker III, 23, of San Diego, dropped a high-capacity weapon magazine as he fled into shrubbery at a commercial complex. An officer pursued Baker and saw him holding a handgun. When Baker ignored repeated commands to drop the weapon, police said the officer fired nine times, killing him. Baker was being sought on a warrant for robbery at the time of his death.

The suspect that police believe to be Brown ran into a commercial complex and eluded officers despite a six-hour search.

Police said the suspect in the Jaguar who did not run from officers was Raymond Deshawn Hackett Jr., 24, of Fresno. He was arrested on a domestic violence warrant from San Diego County.

Police also detained two females, one of whom admitted to being involved with prostitution. All five are associated with one another, a police spokesman said.

Fresno police said the July slaying of Correia, which took place just after midnight near Shields and Maples avenues, was drug-related. Brown and Thomas were stopped near Highway 168 and Shields Avenue by an officer who heard gunfire and saw a car speeding away. Police recovered a handgun that officers believe was tossed from the speeding car.

Brown and Thomas were booked into Fresno County Jail on July 29 on murder charges, but jail authorities were required by law to release them when legal evidence needed in the case could not be processed before a jail hold expired.

This story was originally published August 18, 2015 at 9:57 AM with the headline "Fresno murder suspect tied to Sunnyvale shooting."