Man arrested at gunpoint in Merced County in connection with death of Fresno woman

A 23-year-old Fresno man sought in connection with the suspicious death of a 24-year-old Fresno woman in a Concord hotel room was arrested a gunpoint early Monday outside Atwater, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Devon Tarrell Crocketts was arrested at 12:34 a.m. Monday near the Atwater-Merced Expressway on southbound Highway 99 in Merced County, CHP Officer Eric Zuniga said in a telephone interview.

Officers received a call just after midnight from Concord Police Department investigators naming Crocketts as a possible suspect in the death of a woman at a Best Western hotel on Clayton Road from Sunday. Investigators believe the woman killed may have been Crockett’s girlfriend, the CHP said.

The woman later was identified by Concord police as 24-year-old Guadalupe Riggi of Fresno.

Concord police, however, stopped short of calling Crocketts a suspect in the case. Lt. Nick Gartner described Crocketts as “a person of interest” in the death investigation. Police said they interviewed Crockets and “will continue to analyze his involvement with this investigation as new information is learned.”

“Investigators continue to follow up on leads to provide clarity on what took place last night,” Concord police said in a statement.

Gartner said the cause of death remained under investigation Monday.

Police believe Crocketts called 911 to report a “physical assault” at the hotel room and left the area. It remained unclear why he may have called 911 and then left the area.

Officers traced Crocketts’ cellphone to the area of Highway 99 in Merced County. CHP officers quickly spotted a 2015 blue Chrysler 200 driven by Crocketts. Officers stopped the car along the highway and arrested Crocketts at gunpoint, Zuniga confirmed.

Crocketts also was wanted on a felony warrant out of Fresno, the CHP said. Details of the warrant were not immediately available.

Officers said Crocketts would be turned over to the Concord Police Department.

He remained in custody Monday in Merced County on unrelated charges out of Fresno.

This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 10:02 AM with the headline "Man arrested at gunpoint in Merced County in connection with death of Fresno woman."