The name of the man believed to be responsible for the murder of a family member in a home behind a Lathrop elementary school on Monday morning a pair of carjackings that occurred during a pursuit across two counties has been released by authorities.
Stephan Williamson, 35, was booked into the San Joaquin County Jail on Monday afternoon on charges of murder and vehicle theft and is currently being held without bail. He is due in court today in Manteca at 1:30 p.m. to answer to the charges against him.
According to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office the incident began around 11 a.m. on Monday when a call came in about a shooting at a home on the 13000 block of Talc Way behind Joseph Widmer Elementary School.
When officers arrived, they discovered a male upstairs suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, and right as crews began delivering medical aid to the victim a call came in about a carjacking several miles away.
It was the first of two armed carjackings that Williamson allegedly committed while trying to flee the area, taking the first vehicle, a compact pickup truck, to Ripon where he ditched it with a shredded tire and then carjacked another truck from a jobsite and headed east towards to the San Joaquin County line.
He was spotted by a California Highway Patrol officer from the Stanislaus County office on Highway 120 between Escalon and Oakdale, and after a brief pursuit surrendered to officers without incident.
The homicide was the first in Lathrop in more than three years — dating back to April 19, 2018 — and triggered a massive manhunt that included dozens of sheriff’s deputies from San Joaquin County as well as officers from multiple other agencies that aided in the search for the armed and dangerous man.
The Stanislaus County Sherriff’s Office, the Stanislaus County CHP office, and the Ripon and Escalon Police Departments all played a role in the massive search, and deputies from San Joaquin County blanketed locations where they thought Williamson might pop up — including Tracy and Manteca.
The name of the victim has not been released by authorities but is believed to be Williamson’s relative.
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
