A California man has been charged with murder in the death of a DoorDash delivery driver whose body was found in the trunk of a Tesla in Merced County over the summer, and authorities say he used multiple identities in an attempt to evade capture during a three-month manhunt, the Los Angeles Times reported. Manuel Adrian Salceda, 39, was arrested without incident at a gas station on Road 8 near Interstate 5 in Woodland, the California Highway Patrol said in a statement on Tuesday, and was charged in Merced County Superior Court with one count of murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon in the death of Javier Becerril Jr., a 42-year-old Hollister resident.
Source: Los Angeles Times (via News24 summary) — DoorDash driver found dead in Tesla trunk; suspect charged
Becerril's body was found on July 9 in the trunk of a Tesla sedan on State Route 152 in Merced County. The CHP and the Merced County District Attorney's Office, in a press conference carried by KMPH FOX26, said the case began that day at about 12:19 p.m., when the CHP Merced Communications Center received a report of a missing person believed to be on Highway 152 east of Lower Cottonwood Road, and officers from CHP Los Banos and deputies from the Merced County Sheriff's Office found Becerril's body in the trunk of the vehicle.
Source: KMPH FOX26 — CHP and Merced County DA detail arrest in Highway 152 Tesla case
Local station KFSN identified Becerril as a DoorDash delivery driver who frequently fulfilled orders at a Safeway supermarket in Hollister, and fellow delivery workers built a memorial outside the grocery store, the Times reported. Reporting syndicated from SFGate and the New York Post said Salceda entered Merced County Superior Court on October 20 to face charges that he allegedly beat Becerril before the victim's body was placed in the electric sedan, and that detectives had concluded Becerril had suffered a physical assault. Those are allegations in a criminal case that has not been tried.
The CHP's Central Division Major Crimes Unit led the investigation, which spanned multiple Bay Area counties. Detectives learned on the morning of October 11 that a vehicle believed to be carrying Salceda was near Dublin, setting off a search across several counties that ended about 70 miles north in Woodland, in Yolo County just west of Sacramento, the syndicated reporting said. Investigators said surveillance footage, physical evidence and other leads pointed to Salceda, that he may have used multiple identities to try to evade law enforcement, and that officers also examined the Tesla's onboard computer system for data or video.
CHP Chief Damon Gilmore said in a statement after the arrest: “As California's state police, the CHP is committed to pursuing violent offenders and working with our law enforcement partners to bring those responsible to justice.” He added: “Our detectives tracked the evidence across multiple counties to locate and arrest the suspect in Javier Becerril Jr.'s killing.” Salceda remains in custody as the case proceeds through Merced County Superior Court, the reporting said. No trial date or plea was reported in the sources cited.
What is solid
- CHP said Salceda, 39, was arrested on Oct. 11 at a Woodland gas station and charged in Merced County Superior Court with murder and possession of a firearm by a felon — reported by the Los Angeles Times and by SFGate/New York Post syndicated reporting.
- Becerril, 42, of Hollister, was found dead on July 9 in the trunk of a Tesla on State Route 152 in Merced County, after a missing-person report — stated by CHP and the Merced County DA at a press conference carried by KMPH, and by the Times.
- KFSN identified Becerril as a DoorDash driver who frequently worked from a Hollister Safeway, the Times reported.
What is only claimed
- How Becerril died and whether Salceda committed the charged offences are allegations before the court — he has not been tried, and the sources cited report no plea or trial outcome.