California - GUSTINE – Bill James Jr. may simply have been in the wrong place at the wrong time when the 33-year-old Gustine man was murdered in a local bar on Nov. 6, authorities believe.
Investigators are continuing to piece together the details of the deadly attack and the motivation behind it, said Deputy Tom MacKenzie, a spokesperson for the Merced County Sheriff's Office, but information that has come to light suggests James was a victim of random violence.
"It doesn't look like he was targeted," MacKenzie said. "The way the investigation is shaping up, it looks like he was a victim of circumstance."
That wasn't the theory authorities were first investigating, MacKenzie acknowledged.
He confirmed reports that the group of eight to 10 men believed to be responsible for the murder had first visited the Pastime Club, a block down the street from the Gustine Club where the violence erupted a short time later.
A person who was in the Pastime when the group walked in said the men clearly appeared to be looking for trouble – and seemed to be looking for somebody in particular. The bar patron said the men left after walking through the bar and checking the rear patio area, without exchanging a word with anybody in the establishment.
"Based on that, we had initially gone under the belief that they may have been looking for somebody in particular," MacKenzie told Mattos Newspapers. "Now it appears that they were more looking for trouble than looking for anybody in particular."
Police believe the group then went to the Gustine Club, where they sprayed mace or pepper spray into the bar room to clear out the crowd and then attacked James, stabbing him to death.
The subsequent investigation led authorities to Southern California, where they arrested five men last Monday in conjunction with the case.
One was released due to lack of evidence, but the other four remain in custody and will be returned to Merced County this week, MacKenzie said. They face charges of murder, participating in a criminal street gang and being an accessory to murder. Those in custody were identified as Ruben Silva, 22; David Silva, 23; Mark Oseguera, 24; and Richard Naudin, 30; all of Southern California.
MacKenzie said police suspect but have been unable to confirm that the four men have ties to an outlaw motorcycle gang.
A motorcycle rally was held in Santa Nella the weekend of the murder and was visited by a large group of law enforcement officers as part of the investigation.
Police have not confirmed any link between the rally and the homicide.
Several additional suspects are being sought.
"The investigation is still continuing," he commented Monday. "It is not a case that is going to be easily solved."
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