On March 29, 2023, at about 4:34 AM, emergency responders found 20-year-old Nicholas Shehli Whipple of Redwood Valley unresponsive in the roadway on Tabor Lane in Covelo. First responders performed CPR but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Initial observations noted a gunshot wound to the chest and signs he had been severely beaten; a forensic autopsy on March 30 confirmed death from a gunshot wound to the torso.

Investigators from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, the Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force, the County District Attorney’s Office, and the California Department of Justice opened a homicide probe. By early April, 33-year-old Covelo resident Lee Anthony Joaquin was identified as the primary suspect. A multi-jurisdictional manhunt followed; Joaquin was arrested after a California Highway Patrol traffic stop on April 26, 2023, and booked on murder and related charges, including false identification and weapons and drug counts.

Whipple’s family and the Round Valley Indian Tribes offered a $10,000 reward and urged the public to come forward. If anyone has information that could help the prosecution or shed light on what happened that night, please share it with investigators.