MODESTO, Calif. — Modesto Police made multiple arrests connected to the Dec. 26, 2020, shooting, which resulted in the death of a 14-year-old girl.
During the initial investigation, Modesto Police found a car crashed at the corner of S. Martin Luther King Drive and Oak Street around 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 26, where they found four people in the car -- three girls ages 11, 14 and 18 and a 16-year-old boy.
The 14-year-old, identified by family members as Maria Guadaloupe Juarez, died at the scene while two of the other people in the car went to hospitals for gunshot injuries.
The Modesto Police Violent Crimes Unit took over the investigation and found that the shooting victims were trying to turn around on Oak Street after reaching a dead end. According to a Facebook post from Modesto Police, "several males were loitering" in the area when they drove by. Three people shot at the victims' car before it crashed. The suspects continued to fire their guns as they tried to flee.
Modesto Police arrested 21-year-old Damon "Demon" Morrison, 24-year-old Angelo Keo and a 16-year-old for the shooting. All were arrested on charges of murder and attempted murder.
Police also said in the Facebook post that they figured out that the shooting was "associated with, and motivated by, gang activity involving members and associates of the Valley Boyz Crip Criminal Street Gang."
Modesto Police also arrested several other people associated with the suspects for firearm-related charges and trying to "hinder investigators by concealing evidence and aiding the suspects."
Modesto Police worked with their Major Crimes, Street Gang and Violent Crime units as well as the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office in this investigation. They also said they were able to seize nine illegally-possessed guns, crack cocaine, ecstasy and Xanax pills, high-capacity magazines, marijuana, and about $5,000 in cash.
