Man shot dead in Livermore; suspect caught in Elk Grove

A man died after being shot in a shopping center parking lot in Livermore early Wednesday morning, marking the city’s second homicide in less than a month.

The victim — identified only as a transient man from Livermore — was shot during a dispute with another transient who, like the victim, was living in the creek area near the Walmart and Kohl’s stores on Las Positas Road, according to Livermore police Sgt. Steve Goard.

Police say they’ve positively identified their suspect as 30-year-old Johnathon Michael Inocencio, who initially fled the scene in a vehicle but was later apprehended not far from Sacramento by the Elk Grove Police Department.

The investigation unfolded after Livermore police officers were dispatched to the 2700 block of Las Positas Road at 4:06 a.m. to respond to a shooting that just occurred, Goard said.

Arriving officers found a man who had been shot in his upper torso in the parking lot between Walmart and Kohl’s, according to Goard. The victim died from his injuries at the scene.

“So far in the investigation, it appears the suspect and victim were involved in a confrontation that led to Johnathon Inocencio shooting the victim multiple times in the upper torso,” Goard said.

Though identified as a transient from Livermore living in the nearby creek area, Inocencio allegedly fled the shooting scene in a vehicle — police say either a 2014 white Ford Explorer or a 2000 white-and-red Tioga motorhome.

Livermore police issued a statewide “be on the lookout” (BOLO) for Inocencio’s vehicles Wednesday morning, and he was located and arrested without incident in Elk Grove around 1:45 p.m., Goard said. Livermore detectives were due to take custody of the arrestee and his vehicle later Wednesday. He will be booked into jail on suspicion of murder.

Detectives continue to investigate the case, Goard said. Anyone with information about the fatal shooting, including potential witnesses, can call the Livermore PD tip-line at 371-4790. Those who wish to remain anonymous may do so.

Wednesday’s homicide was the second fatal shooting in the city this summer and the third overall in greater Livermore this year.

Livermore High School student Emmanuel Moseby, 16, died on July 9 after being shot the night before during an argument outside the Taco Bell on East Stanley Boulevard. Police identified their suspect in that case as Jorge Luis Tellez, 21, of Livermore, who remains at-large.

And back in February, on a family ranch on Hartman Road in unincorporated Livermore, 54-year-old Jeffrey Murray was charged with fratricide for allegedly killing his 50-year-old brother Todd Murray during what the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office described as “a family dispute that turned into gun violence.”