Investigators tracking a man believed linked to the April 7 robbery leading to the murder of Oshry Elor, 23, of Pleasant Hill got the break they were looking for Monday when police in Arizona attempted to stop a car carrying Luther Lee, 24, of Columbus, Georgia, on Interstate 40.
Arizona State Troopers spotted the car Lee was reportedly traveling in and conducted a traffic stop, according to information released by police in Pleasant Hill. During the stop, Lee and two others exited the car and Lee was arrested on an outstanding warrant previously obtained by Pleasant Hill Police Detectives.
A remaining occupant, later identified as Keith Jones, 29, of Cusseta Georgia, fled in the car with Arizona State Troopers in pursuit for approximately 90 miles at speeds in excess of 120 mph. Jones’ vehicle tires were deflated with the use of a spike strip after crossing the New Mexico state border, police said, and Jones was then taken into custody without further incident.
Pleasant Hill Police detectives on Tuesday identified Jones as the gunman who shot Elor multiple times during a “marijuana deal gone bad” at a home on Norse Drive. Elor, a long-time resident of Pleasant Hill and former College Park High School football player, died despite life-saving efforts to save him at the scene.
Pleasant Hill police said they will seek charges of murder with special circumstances enhancements, robbery, burglary and conspiracy against Jones, with Lee facing conspiracy to commit robbery and murder charges. The two additional occupants in the vehicle were not charged with a crime and were released from custody, according to police.
Jones, is currently being held at the McKinley County Adult Detention Center in New Mexico. Lee is being held at the Navajo County Detention Center in Arizona.
Anyone with further information is encouraged to contact the Pleasant Hill Police Department at (925)288-4600.
They don’t have marijuana in Georgia?
Did they get away with any grass or did they just end up running for the border? It sounds like a man died for nothing.
Did they know each other before this happened or did they come out here to rip off local weed dealers?
It’s pretty clear that a lot of these formerly low level criminals are joining up with each other to form ciriminal enterprises. That home burglary ring in San Francisco seems like an example of this trend with members coming from all over the Bay area.
Out here to get California grown grass or what? Why would they come here to do this?
Grass or money? A lot of dealers have a lot of cash on hand.
More details please.
Insane.
Hard to believe.
Hobbs Act. Bring in the feds.
From what I’m reading on another blog, Lee is from Columbus, but currently living in Sacramento according to his FB. Jones is a FB friend from Cusseta. Lee’s FB has gang language and gang signs. Maybe it’s gang related.
Didn’t some guys from Georgia try to rob a house in Petaluma a couple of weeks ago?
Is pot legal in Georgia? Why are they coming here?
Everbody be looking to get paid.
There’s got to be some way to pin this on Zuckerberg.
Over POT???? Dumb as they look.
Is anyone innocent in this?
What was the murdered man’s role in the drug rip off turned bad?
Looking for a gang affliation. Georgia is full of gangs.
So sick of this. Walnut Creek police running around looking for someone right now. This is getting absurd.
And now we have to pay to feed them when they go to prison.
I was told the robbers murderers got the address to the dope house from the man they shot.
Georgia. New Mexico. Arizona. Pleasant Hill. Is that the Republic of Georgia? “Cusseta” isn’t exactly Atlanta or Savannah.
Connecting people from far away. It sounds like social media may have been used here.
Is it just me or are things getting worse?
Drugs and money. It usually comes down to drugs and money.
There’s so much going on around here we know nothing about.
This doesn’t sound random. Did all the lpeople involved know each other? What was their relationship??
My neighbor (the lawyer) gets his pot delivered. I didn’t know people still sold it out of their homes these days.
Theres more to this and I’m betting the people in that house aren’t talking.
According to PHPD, it was a planned marijuana sale. If FB was involved, maybe he was advertising his drug sales on social media. According to his neighbors, there’s been drug activity at that house for over a year. If one guy had a gun, it sounds like it was a planned robbery. Who knows if the murder was planned.