NEWMAN (CBS13) – Authorities arrested two people in Stanislaus County in connection with the murder of a California man at an Oregon hotel, the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety announced.
Just after 11 a.m. on Jan. 5, the victim, Ryan Antone Dutra, 42, of California, was found unconscious with a single gunshot wound to the floor of a hotel room he had rented to a Red Lion Inn in Josephine County, Oregon, according to law enforcement. It was discovered by a hotel employee. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Derek and Tera Smith
Through video surveillance, cell phone technology and license plate readers, authorities said they identified the suspects in Dutra’s murder as Derek Ian Smith, 41, and his wife, Tera Lindsey Smith, 34. . Law enforcement said the two were likely to be back in California by the time they were identified.
The California Highway Patrol Police Department, the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office, and the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation.
Around 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 6, the Smiths were located driving on Interstate 5 in Newman City, Stanislaus County, and were detained without incident, authorities said.
Both face charges of homicide, theft and misuse of a firearm.
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