WEST SACRAMENTO — Candles, balloons and heart-shaped mementos mark the spot where a 16-year-old girl lost her life Saturday night, fatally shot during what police say appears to have been a marijuana deal gone wrong.
Yolo County coroner’s officials on Tuesday identified the girl as Samantha J. Farris of Citrus Heights. She died at the scene of the shooting, a recreational trail separating River City High School and a residential neighborhood.
Residents reported hearing shots fired in the area shortly after 7:30 p.m. Saturday. By Sunday night, police had three 16-year-old suspects in custody — a female from Elk Grove and two males from West Sacramento and Sacramento, West Sacramento police Sgt. Eric Angle said Monday.
All three were booked into Yolo County Juvenile Hall, the boys on suspicion of homicide, robbery and conspiracy; the girl facing a charge of being an accessory to a felony.
“We believe the shooting occurred during a marijuana-related transaction,” police said in a Facebook post regarding the arrests. “A firearm believed to be used in the homicide has been recovered.”
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Yolo County Dispatch Center at 916-372-3375.
A man who identified himself as Farris’ grandfather told local media that Samantha had been running away from the scene when she was shot several times in the back.
“This is senseless. This is the senseless slaughter of a beautiful girl,” Mark Bentley told KCRA 3. “This is not what Sam was about. What is happening to the youth of America?”
Bentley told the news station that Samantha had accompanied an older friend to the trail, believing that they were going on “an errand.” But the alleged drug transaction went south when the money came up short.
“So, Samantha and another girl ran after the boys and said ‘Hey, you shorted us,’” Bentley said in the interview. “One pulled a gun. The two girls saw the gun and ran. And my granddaughter got three bullets in her back.”
Court proceedings are pending for the three arrested teens, whom police are not identifying because they are minors. Although the West Sacramento boy’s name initially was made public before he turned himself in to authorities Sunday night, The Enterprise is not naming him due to his age.
West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon released a statement Sunday praising the swift arrests made in the case.
“I am very proud of the officers & team members at the West Sacramento Police Department, who worked nonstop through the night on an investigation & manhunt sprawling beyond our borders to bring the killers to justice,” Cabaldon posted on Twitter.
Officials at River City High School issued its own statement Sunday saying while neither the victim nor the suspects are affiliated with West Sacramento’s Washington Unified School District, it would make support staff available to students returning to campus Monday from the holiday break.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene