Suspect in killing of Sikh family in California once worked for them: Relative
San Francisco(PTI): The suspect in the killing of an Indian-origin Sikh family, including an eight-month-old baby girl, had once worked for the family's trucking business and had a longstanding dispute with them that got "pretty nasty" and culminated in an act of senseless killing, authorities and a relative said.
Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said the bodies of 36-year-old Jasdeep Singh, 27-year-old Jasleen Kaur, their eight-month-old child Aroohi Dheri and the baby's uncle, 39-year-old Amandeep Singh were found on Wednesday evening in an orchard after they were kidnapped on Monday.
The family, originally from Harsi Pind in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, was kidnapped at a business in Merced County, California.
"The primary suspect in the kidnapping and murder, Jesus Manuel Salgado, is a former employee who used to drive for the victim's trucking company. They had a disagreement and parted ways," a relative of the deceased family was quoted as saying by the NBC Bay area.
The relative also revealed that baby Aroohi Dheri was left for dead and died from exposure, the report said.
Warnke also said that he believes there might be a second person involved in the kidnapping and killings, but investigators are still collecting evidence.
"If that person is watching, might as well turn yourself in," Warnke was quoted as saying by NBC Bay area.
"Our detectives are like bulldogs. They're not going to give up. Once we find or determine that there was in fact a second person, they're going to go after and go after hard," he said.
The longstanding dispute between Salgado and the victims "got pretty nasty," Warnke was quoted as saying by KTVU television station.
Relatives told investigators that Salgado had sent angry text messages or emails about a year ago after working with a trucking business, Warnke said.
Family members said nothing was stolen from the trucking company but that their relatives were all wearing jewellery. Warnke had said that after the kidnappings, an ATM card belonging to one of the victims was used in Atwater. Public records show the family owns Unison Trucking Inc. and family members said they had recently opened an office for it in a parking lot the Singh brothers also operated, the report added.
Salgado was officially booked into the Merced County Jail on four counts of kidnapping and four counts of murder on Thursday evening. Deputies say he tried killing himself before being taken into custody on Tuesday.
The report added that Amandeep, the baby's uncle, is survived by his wife and two kids in their teens.
The city of Merced has organized a candlelight vigil for the family every night at 7 pm from October 6 to October 9.
On Monday, the family members were kidnapped from a business at the intersection of Dickenson Ferry Road and South Highway 59 in Merced County.
Warnke said that a farm worker near the orchard found the bodies and immediately contacted authorities.
All of the bodies were found close together, he said.
"There are no words to describe the anger I feel," Warnke said.
"There's a special place in hell for this guy," he said about the suspect, who attempted to kill himself.
"It's horribly, horribly senseless," he said.
Warnke did not say how the family was killed, adding that it appears they were killed before they were reported missing on Monday.
Salgado, already a convicted robber, was previously convicted of first-degree robbery with the use of a firearm in Merced County, as well as attempted false imprisonment and an attempt to prevent or dissuade a victim or witness. He was sentenced to 11 years in state prison in that case, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
He was released from prison in 2015 and discharged from parole three years later. He also has a conviction for possession of a controlled substance, the corrections agency said.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
