MENDOCINO CO., 5/19/25 – Deputies are investigating after three men were shot—one fatally– near an illegal cannabis grow, the Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
Just after 9 p.m. on Wednesday, deputies responded to a 911 hang-up in the 82000 block of Mina Road north of the unincorporated community of Covelo. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the 911 caller was a man who said he needed assistance helping a friend.
As the deputies proceeded with their investigation along Mina Road, they were contacted by people in a vehicle who said they found an unresponsive man along Hulls Valley Road, which intersects with Mina Road.
Deputies proceeded to Hulls Valley Road and found a deceased man on the road near two unoccupied vehicles in the 23000 block. It was determined that the man had died of gunshot wounds around 12:42 a.m. on Thursday, the Sheriff’s Office said.
In their investigation of the scene, deputies found expended gun cartridge casings. They also found a trail of blood approximately a quarter mile in length that led to a cannabis grow, the Sheriff’s Office said.
While responding to the hang-up call, deputies were informed that a man with gunshot wounds had been admitted to a local hospital just before 11 p.m.
Deputies interviewed the man hospitalized with gunshot wounds and the person who had transported him to the hospital. According to deputies, the hospitalized man was associated with the man found dead near Covelo.
Deputies continued to investigate the area around Mina and Hulls Valley roads.
Around 8:15 a.m. Thursday, another injured man was located on Hulls Valley Road with numerous gunshot wounds, approximately two miles from the site where the deceased man was found. The man reportedly told deputies that he was struck during the shooting earlier on Hulls Valley Road.
Both hospitalized men are in stable condition as of Monday evening.
The Sheriff’s Office is in the process of identifying the deceased man. Once his next of kin is identified, more information about his identity will be released. An autopsy is being scheduled to determine the exact cause of death.
During the investigation, deputies confirmed that the cannabis grow was illegal and they believe run by a drug trafficking organization. A search warrant for the grow area was prepared.
The investigation was ongoing as of Monday. Anyone with any information is asked to call the sheriff’s office communications center at (707) 463-4086 or the anonymous non-emergency tip line at (707) 234-2100.
