A 30-year-old man, identified as Jorge M. Zavala Estrella of Vallecito, was killed in Mendocino County after a burst of gunfire linked to an illegal cannabis grow. Deputies traced a 9:01 p.m. May 14 hang-up to the 82000 block of Mina Road and during the search were alerted to an unresponsive man along nearby Hulls Valley Road; a forensic pathologist later determined Zavala Estrella died from multiple gunshot wounds. Two other men were shot that night and survived with serious injuries; by late May officials said they were in stable condition.

Investigators obtained search warrants for the cultivation site and the roadway shooting scene and called in additional personnel, including District Attorney investigators, to process evidence. Authorities described the killing as tied to an illicit grow in the Hulls Valley/Mina Road corridor north of Covelo and urged the public to come forward with information. Did anyone in the area see unusual activity near Hulls Valley Road or the Mina Road grow site that night?