Second man dies in Forestville marijuana garden shooting

A second man died over the weekend as the result of a shooting Friday night that occurred near a marijuana garden in Forestville.

Sonoma County Sheriff’s officials were not releasing the identity of the man who was killed along with Theros Frank Fountaine, 46, of Santa Rosa.

Both men were shot and found in a field near River Road and Trenton-Healdsburg Road about 6:40 p.m. Friday.

Fountaine died at the scene while the other man was flown by helicopter to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, where he had been on life support.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Crum said Sunday there are no suspects in custody, but detectives continue to investigate the case and are actively following up leads.

A large law enforcement ground and aerial search began Friday night in the rural area east of town after a jogger called 911 to report hearing gunfire and screams and seeing at least one person fall to the ground.

Detectives found a marijuana plot at the site of the killing and said it appeared to be a factor in the shooting.

Crum said Sunday in an email it is not a permitted growing operation.

He said authorities are not disclosing the location or size of the marijuana grow to avoid thefts, or other problems.

“We aren’t putting out much more information yet,” he stated in the email, adding “we conducted extensive searches for evidence and suspects.”

Crum declined to say where the second victim, who was in his 40s, lived.

Sunday evening, Crum said the man was undergoing organ harvest for donation and the sheriff’s department did not yet have possession of the body.

Family members of Fountaine, a graduate of Santa Rosa’s Montgomery High School and father of three grown children, said they did not know exactly what he was doing in the area where the shooting occurred.

His eldest daughter described the other victim as someone her father had been friends with for years. Fountaine’s wife said she thinks her husband was picked up and driven to the Forestville site.

The area where the shooting occurred is covered by vineyards and bisected by tributaries and the main stem of Mark West Creek. Law enforcement radio communications Friday night described a cornfield near where the victims were found.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 707-521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com.