Man Accused Of Brutal Murder To Appear In Court

A 39-year-old Redding man will be arraigned Monday for the murder of a Burney gas station cashier, and the district attorney’s office will add a torture allegation, which makes it a possible death penalty case. David Wicks was killed December 21st while working at the Rocky Ledge Shell in Johnson Park. Surveillance footage from that evening shows a person walking into the store wearing a yellow rain suit and a concealed face. The killer then scatters some sort of flammable liquid around the store and on Wicks and lights the place up on his way out the door. The yellow-clad man then rides away on a black beach cruiser style bicycle. Wicks burned to death in the fire. During the investigation several items were found around Johnson Park that Shasta County Sheriff’s Detectives sent to the State Department of Justice lab. The DNA analysis pointed to Juan Manuel Venegas, a longtime former resident of Fall River Mills, Burney and Johnson Park. On Thursday detectives caught up with Venegas at his home on Telecaster Lane in West Redding. No motive has been identified.

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