December 12, 2021 – Hilmar, CA – On September 19, 2021, at approximately 7:15 P.M., The Merced County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Hot Rod’s Diner on Lander Avenue in Hilmar in regards to a shooting. When Deputies arrived on scene, they found 38-year-old Jasper Gray deceased from an apparent gunshot wound. The Merced County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Bureau was called to the scene and began a homicide investigation. 29-year-old, Dominick Jeffery Rufo and 32-year-old Brandy Bettencourt were wanted in connection with the homicide.
After a three-month-long investigation, it was determined that Rufo and Bettencourt had fled to Baja California, Mexico. Merced Sheriff’s Investigators worked closely with the US Marshals Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Taskforce and the US Marshals Mexico Investigative Liaison Team out of the Southern District of California in coordination with Mexican Authorities to locate Rufo and Bettencourt.
On December 6, 2021, at about 3:30 P.M., Rufo and Bettencourt were taken into custody and are currently being transported to Merced County. Rufo and Bettencourt will be booked into the Merced County Jail on charges of homicide.
Source: Merced County Sheriff's Office
