4 held in fatal shooting

Four men were arrested by Sonoma County sheriff's deputies Sunday in connection with the shooting death of a man whose body was found in a state beach parking lot south of Jenner.

The suspects -- identified as David Prak, 19; Sarith Prak, 21; Preston Kahoone, 22; Quentin Russell, 24, all of Santa Rosa -- were booked into the Sonoma County Jail on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and murder, the Sheriff's Department said.

The men were detained in the Duncans Mills-Monte Rio area at about 1:15 a.m. They were in a car that matched one seen speeding away from the area of Blind Beach, a law enforcement officer said.

Moments before the car was stopped, a state park ranger found the body of an apparent shooting victim in the beach parking lot, just south of Goat Rock off Highway 1.

The ranger was headed to an unrelated call at another beach farther south when he noticed a black car with several occupants speeding away from the Blind Beach area, according to the law enforcement officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

While checking the parking lot, the ranger spotted the body and alerted the Sheriff's Department.

The crime scene was about four miles south of the site where a young couple from the Midwest were shot to death as they slept on a beach north of Jenner in 2004. There is no indication the two cases are related, Sheriff's Lt. Greg Contos said.

The Sheriff's Department withheld the name, age and gender of Sunday's shooting victim, citing concern that the information could "jeopardize this active investigation or put any other persons at risk."

However, deputies said they were looking for a silver 2006 Honda Accord sedan that belonged to the victim. The car has California license plate No. 5UJU394.

Anyone who sees the car is asked to call 911. Deputies said anyone in the vehicle should be considered dangerous and shouldn't be approached.

Throughout the morning, detectives and crime scene investigators examined the Blind Beach parking lot, a small paved offshoot from Goat Rock Road that overlooks the distinctive rock outcropping.

After the body was removed by the coroner at midday, the parking lot was empty, a 2-foot-wide pool of blood visible from several yards away.

There are a few homes in the area but neighbors contacted Sunday said they didn't see or hear anything. However, one woman said a deputy told her 17 shell casings were found in the parking lot.

Deputies responding to the park ranger's 1:15 a.m. call arrived from the east on Highway 116 and saw the black car. The deputies detained the four occupants for questioning.

No guns were found, according to the law enforement officer.

Detectives spent much of the day rounding up scent-trailing dogs, including some from other counties, as well as metal detectors to search grassy areas along Highway 116 between the coast and where the men were picked up.

In addition to the parking lot, at least two additional crime scenes were set up along the Russian River, where detectives suspect the men may have tried to dispose of evidence.

Detectives called in extra deputies to guard the large scenes.

By early afternoon, search and rescue experts armed with metal detectors had gathered to methodically search the riverside terrain along Highway 116 near Laurel Dell Avenue and Willow Creek Road.

At sheriff's headquarters, crime scene investigators were examining the men's car, including taking casts of the tire treads, potentially to determine if any matches could be made with tire marks at any of the scenes.

For several hours, park rangers turned motorists away at the Highway 1 entrance to Goat Rock beach. All other beaches in the area remained open.

The shooting is the second homicide in the unincorporated county this year.

A man arrested in the Feb. 6 shooting death of Jorge Eric Balbuena, 27, was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Investigators have been working for more than three years to solve the slayings of Christian camp counselors Lindsay Cutshall, 22, of Fresno, Ohio and Jason Allen, 26, of Zeeland, Mich., who were each shot in the head and left in their sleeping bags on a beach north of Jenner.

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 568-5312 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.