Last night, Tuesday, February 16th, South Lake Tahoe Police Detectives were present in Vallejo, California while investigating the murder of 40 year old Dennis Wright Jr. at the Beverly Lodge in South Lake Tahoe on the evening of Saturday, January 30th. In Vallejo, Detectives arrested Tristan Batten, an 18 year old male suspect, for his participation in this murder. This morning, while detectives were continuing this investigation in Sacramento California, they arrested another suspect, 20 year old Harvest Davidson, for his own participation in this murder case. Both arrestees have been charged with one count of murder and have been booked on no bail warrants. Neither of these two arrestees is believed to be the suspects depicted in the composite sketches released to the public on February 3rd, and included again here in this news release.
The investigation of this case has not stopped since the crime occurred, and is still continuing on a daily/hourly basis. We anticipate the arrest of additional outstanding suspects related to this case. Therefore the public release of more specific information at this time, in terms of the specific roles and actions these arrestees took in the case, would jeopardize the furtherance of our investigation. We request our public’s patience in this. Nevertheless we want our public to know that arrests are being made, and that this case is taking our investigators to a number of areas removed from South Lake Tahoe. These arrests, and the expectation of more arrests, demonstrate that significant progress is being made. Our public should know the murder weapon has not yet been recovered. Additional suspects in this case are considered armed and dangerous.
Based upon the release of composite sketches and the original information related to the murder at the Beverly Lodge, SLTPD has received several valuable tips from our community which are helping to move this investigation forward. Additionally, we have been supported tremendously by the El Dorado County DA’s Office, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, Vallejo PD, and other assisting agencies which must currently remain unidentified for the sake of investigative confidentiality. This case has demanded a level of investigative resources and flexibility far beyond the ability of SLTPD to manage alone. The staffing of personnel and availing of many investigative resources by our allied agencies have been invaluable to our PD and our South Lake Tahoe community. Further public information will be released as appropriate as this case develops.
Previously released information related to the murder:
Around 7:45pm on the evening of Saturday, January 30th, Dennis Wright Jr. and his girlfriend Kendra Ghiorso drove to South Lake Tahoe to sell 100 pounds of marijuana to prospective buyers. During the transaction at least two black male adults arrived and attempted to rob Wright and Ghiorso at gunpoint for the cash involved in the drug deal. The robbers physically struggled with both Wright and Ghiorso in the motel parking lot. One or both of the two suspects pictured here fired multiple gunshots. Dennis Wright Jr. was shot multiple times and died after being transported to Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe. The two black male robbers fled the scene in a vehicle. At this time however, police have a very limited and unconfirmed description of this vehicle.
Suspect 1: Black Male Adult, described as tall approximately 6’-3”/200lbs, late 20’s to early 30’s/ Black hair worn in braids or dreadlocks
Suspect 2: Black Male Adult, Possibly Mixed Race, Light Complexion, 5’-8”/170lbs, late 20’s to early 30’s, Black hair with tight curls
Vehicle: May be associated with a tan colored Chrysler Concorde, 2004 or older sedan, similar to what is pictured here. (Detectives located this vehicle in the bay area and seized it as evidence).
The South Lake Tahoe Police Department is asking for assistance from our community to help identify and locate these two suspects. The investigation is active and we have received assistance from a variety of allied agencies already to question several individuals in a number of cities around the northern California area who may be connected to this case. If anyone has information which may be helpful, they are strongly encouraged to contact the South Lake Tahoe Police Department at 530-542-6100 or, if anonymity is desired, Lake Tahoe Secret Witness at 530-541-6800.