A Modesto man accused of a violent robbery and killing of a young man in Donnelly Park more than seven years ago has been convicted of murder by a Stanislaus County jury.
Shaun Mark Santos, 29, of Modesto, was convicted by a jury of the murder of Cameron Tracy, 21, of Patterson, along with multiple robberies. Santos is scheduled to be sentenced on April 5 and is facing life in prison, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.
The conviction stems from a crime spree that occurred in late 2017. Santos, along with three other suspects, committed a series of violent robberies around November 2017. On Dec. 4, 2017, Santos and his accomplices targeted Donnelly Park in Turlock, seeking new victims. It was there that they encountered Tracy and his girlfriend, who were unaware of the imminent danger.
Brandishing a replica gun, the assailants ordered Tracy and his girlfriend to strip and surrender their belongings. In a brutal turn of events, Santos snuck up behind Tracy and struck him multiple times on the back of the head with a metal bat. Tracy's girlfriend managed to escape and call 911, but the damage had been done. Santos and his crew fled the scene with Tracy's Apple watch, car keys, and cellphone, items valued at only a few hundred dollars, according to the district attorney’s office.
Tracy was hospitalized for nine days before he died from the injuries he sustained in the brutal attack.
Turlock Police Investigators were able to identify the suspect vehicle, a white 2004 Kia Sedona with Nevada license plates, after reviewing surveillance video from an area business. Using this information, detectives working in conjunction with the Manteca Police Department were able to locate the suspect vehicle in the City of Manteca.
With the assistance of the California Highway Patrol and the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department, detectives were able to stop the suspect vehicle and its occupants in Stockton. All four subjects were taken into custody without incident and booked into the Stanislaus County Jail and Stanislaus County Juvenile Hall. Arrested were Santos, Lavinia Perez, and two juveniles, a 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy.
In the vehicle investigators found some of the stolen property and replica handguns.
Other Turlock robberies that were tied to the group included:
— A robbery that occurred around 5:30 p.m. Nov. 17, 2017 at the park. The male victim told investigators he was surrounded by a group of suspects all in black and that they demanded he hand over his property. The victim refused, which is when the group started attacking and punching him, before fleeing with his personal property. The victim had a complaint of pain after the incident.
— Another robbery was reported around 6 p.m. Nov. 26, 2017. In that case, the victim was at Donnelly Park when he was approached by several unknown individuals, who were all dressed in black and had their faces covered. The victim told investigators the robbers threw him to the ground and kicked him as they stole his phone. One of the suspects then pointed a gun at a female victim and took her purse and phone. The criminal complaint states they used the female victim’s credit cards at gas stations in Ceres and Manteca and at a fast-food eatery in Modesto.
The 16-year-old defendant was tried as an adult and in 2020, Terry Van Meter, 18, of Manteca was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, robbery and attempted robbery.
Van Meter had been charged with murder but since that time SB 1437 changed the felony murder law in the state and no longer allows prosecutors to charge an accomplice with murder if they didn’t participate in the actual murder or show any intent to commit murder.
Van Meter was sentenced on Jan. 9 in Stanislaus County Superior Court. He got credit for 766 days for time already served.
The 15-year-old’s case remained in juvenile court and his name has not been released.
Perez was charged with murder and robbery. Court records show she had a sentencing hearing in December 2020 and then in August 2024 there was a hearing to reopen the case. The current status of her case in unknown at this time.
