Humboldt County’s rugged coastlines, raging rivers, and sky-scraping redwoods can draw a veil over the harsher realities of life behind the Redwood Curtain.
According to the 2020 census, 15.8% of county residents are in poverty. Humboldt County has one of the highest per-capita opioid deaths in the state, and the social-emotional challenges of rural living and isolation are well-documented.
In this environment, beautiful yet cruel at times, the year 2021 saw nine lives taken at the hands of another in Humboldt County.
The cases varied wildly. Two separate, elderly Humboldt County residents were killed by unknown suspects. An 18-year-old took the lives of three in a matter of minutes. A man threatening another with a firearm was subsequently rammed by a vehicle, killed, and the homicide was deemed justified. The bodies of two transient men were found dumped near Blue Lake trails within one month of each other.
Of the nine homicides, four are without publicly identified suspects. That is four families still waiting for justice. Four lives were lost for reasons still unknown.
We would like to hold space for the community’s grief and recognize the lives lost by providing an overview of the homicides this year that shook the foundations of those behind the Redwood Curtain.
January 26th, 2021- An Elder Dies of a Gunshot Wound on Bell Springs Road
In the late morning of January 26, 2021, HCSO deputies responded to reports of a gunshot victim near the intersection of Bell Springs Road and Island Mountain Road. Deputies found 85-year-old Richard Grayson Drewry, a well-known Southern Humboldt Rancher, sitting inside his vehicle suffering from injuries that resulted from a gunshot wound. Despite life-saving efforts, Drewry died at the scene.
The case remains under investigation and HCSO has yet to name a suspect for the crime. HCSO has asked the public to consider if they may have seen the elder’s vehicle, a blue 2010 For Explorer (CA LIC#PHOODIS), in the hours prior to his death.
Original Coverage:
- One Person Reported to Have a Gunshot Wound Near Island Mountain Road
- Shooting in Southeastern Humboldt County Fatal, Says Sheriff’s Office
- 85-Year-Old Rancher Killed By Unknown Person in Bell Springs Area: Findings From Autopsy and Investigation Reveal Shooting Was Homicide, Says Sheriff’s Department
- Today, Mendocino County Sheriff Detectives Are Assisting Humboldt County Law Enforcement Investigating Bell Springs Homicide
- Richard Grayson Drewry: Rancher, Entertainer, Father
February 10th, 2021- A Savage Triple Murder on the Bear River Rancheria
Perhaps one of the most well-known crimes of the Emerald Triangle in 2021, the murders of Nikki Metcalf, Margaret Moon, and Shelly Moon by the hand of Mauricio Sanchez-Johnson in the early morning of February 10 tore about the Bear River community, tested the capacities of local law enforcement, and required a multi-state collaboration to bring the suspect back to Humboldt County after fleeing the state.
A note to readers, this crime was gruesome. A search affidavit obtained by this reporter revealed the horrible moments that led up to the crime. Johnson told his brother that morning that he had been “getting with” Shelly Moon when Nikki Metcalf walked into the bedroom and proceeded to confront Johnson. Telling his brother “he wasn’t thinking,” Johnson proceeded to use a 9mm semi-automatic pistol to shoot Metcalf, Margaret Moon, and finally Shelly Moon “because he did not want to have any witnesses.”
Within hours of the crime, Johnson, his mother Melissa Johnson, and her boyfriend Eric Von Keener would flee Humboldt County driving two vehicles, equipped with police scanners to listen to law enforcement, and approximately 36 hours after the crimes the trio would be apprehended in Tooele County, Utah.
Johnson would be in the Toole County Jail to mid-May after a multi-month extradition process to stand trial for the homicide.
The case would never go to trial. On October 26, 2021, Johnson pled guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and admitted three special allegations of the use of a firearm causing death. Johnson was sentenced to 150 years to life in prison, and the Humboldt County District Attorney explained the sentence means Johnson “will have a parole hearing in 25 years.” Addressing concerns that there was a potential for parole in Johnson’s future, the District Attorney said, “citizens should recognize the difficulty of receiving parole for people guilty of first-degree murder.”
Original Coverage:
- Three Now Dead in Loleta Homicide
- 16-Year-Old Is One of Three Dead in Yesterday’s Killings in Loleta
- 18-Year-Old Suspect in Loleta Homicides Taken Into Custody in Utah; Two Others Detained
- Pieces Unfold: More on the Loleta Triple Homicide
- Suspect in Bear River Rancheria Triple Homicide Arraigned in a Utah Courtroom
- Bear River Rancheria Homicide Suspect and Accomplice Appeared Yesterday in a Utah Courtroom
- Disruptive Behavior Leads Utah Judge to Delay Bear River Rancheria Triple Homicide Suspect’s Hearing
- Bear River Rancheria Triple Homicide Suspect Refuses Extradition Unless Humboldt County District Attorney Drops Special Circumstances
- 19-Year-Old Mauricio Johnson Pleads Guilty to Three Counts of First Degree Murder
June 23, 2021- A Trinidad Man Succumbs to Gunshot Injuries After Being Dumped at a Cal Fire Station
On the evening of June 23, 2021, employees of the Elk Camp Cal Fire Station near Orick summoned law enforcement after a vehicle occupied by unknown individuals dropped off a man suffering from a gunshot wound and fled the scene.
The victim was determined to be 40-year-old Benjamin Scott Thomas of Trinidad and approximately two weeks after his death his suspected killer would turn himself into the HCSO Sheriff Station in Eureka.
Trinidad man 49-year-old Shaun Patrick McMahon was identified as the suspect by the Criminal Investigations Division. They had requested a warrant for McMahon’s arrest. He was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility charged with murder and held without bail. An HCSO press release made note that the case is “still under investigation” and requested anyone with information about the crime come forward.
Original Coverage:
- CPR in Progress on a Gunshot Wound Victim
- Gunshot Victim on Bald Hills Road Succumbed to His Wound, Says HCSO
- Orick Homicide Suspect Arrested
August 3rd, 2021- Death Deemed ‘Suspicious’ After Hoopa Tribal Elder Succumbs to Serious Injuries
Of the nine homicides in Humboldt County this year, the death of 73-year-old Hoopa Tribe member Barbara Jean McNeil remains the death with the least information regarding the circumstances. In the early afternoon of August 3, 2021, Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Officers responded to a Pine Creek Road residence in Hoopa after reports emerged of an elderly female suffering from serious injuries.” McNeil was transported to an out-of-area hospital where she would later succumb to her injuries.
Investigators characterized her death as “suspicious.” HCSO never provided any follow-up information, nor formally announced McNeil’s death was being investigated as a homicide. Through documentation obtained by this reporter, we have confirmed that HCSO is treating McNeil’s death as a homicide.
Original Coverage:
August 7th, 2021- Case of Man Using Vehicle to Run Over Another Brandishing a Gun Near Lady Bird Johnson Grove Deemed Justified Homicide
Just before noon on August 7, 2021, HCSO deputies responded to Bald Hills Road near Lady Bird Johnson Grove after receiving reports of firearm brandishing and a traffic collision. Deputies found an injured adult male lying in the roadway and learned the injured male had brandished a firearm at another male on the scene who then “struck the victim with his vehicle out of self-defense.” No arrests were made at the scene.
Once again, through information obtained by this reporter, we have learned that the injured party would later succumb to those injuries and the homicide would be “ruled justified.” The name of the deceased man is Dustin Warrenburg.
Original Coverage:
- Man Runs Vehicle Into Man Who Allegedly Brandished Firearm, Says HCSO; Patient in Critical Condition
September 11th, 2021 & October 10th, 2021- Two Dead Bodies Dumped on Blue Lake Trails in One Month
First, let it be known that investigators have not determined any official connections between these two homicides. That being said, the commonality of where the victims were found and the transient lifestyle of the victims is notable.
Just before noon on September 11, 2021, reports began to emerge of a deceased male near a trail off of Blue Lake’s Hatchery Road. Deputies responded, recovered the remains and the Major Crimes division would identify the deceased as 65-year-old Eugene Steven Sega known to live a transient lifestyle in the Trinidad area. Segal’s cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma and stab wounds.
Almost one month later, on October 10, 2021, HCSO deputies were dispatched to Taylor Way near the Mad River Levee in Blue Lake regarding reports of a deceased male adult. The body was located and subsequent investigations would determine the deceased to be Levi Harold Hernandez Howard, a 29-year-old man known to live a “transient lifestyle in the Blue Lake area.”
A lengthy press release issued by HCSO on October 25, 2021, would directly state that no connection had been made between these deaths, then went on to outline safety precautions the public could utilize when recreating in the area.
Original Coverage for Eugene Steven Segal:
- Victim Reported Found Dead Near Blue Lake
- Suspicious Death Investigation in Blue Lake
- Victim Identified as Suspicious Death in Blue Lake Deemed Homicide
Original Coverage for Levi Harold Hernandez Howard:
With due respect to the victim of the circumstances described, it must be stated that the suspects listed in this article and the accompanying charges described have not been proven in a court of law (except for Mauricio Sanchez-Johnson). In accordance with the legal principle of the presumption of innocence, any individual described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
For every single case listed, if you have information, please consider calling the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.
