Falane Jones Was Killed Outside a Turlock Apartment Complex
TURLOCK, Calif. — Falane Jones, a 37-year-old father from Turlock, was shot and killed on April 23, 2016, outside the Villas Parkside apartments on West Hawkeye Avenue near Donnelly Park. Early police reporting placed the shooting around 9:45 p.m. in the 300 block of West Hawkeye Avenue.
Later court and prosecutor records identified the location more specifically as 381 W. Hawkeye Avenue. The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office said Jones had gone to the apartment complex with his uncle to visit relatives.
Jones Was a Single Father Who Worked in Tracy
Jones’ family remembered him as a devoted single father. His daughter, Falanie, was 9 years old at the time, according to local reporting and later court statements. His mother said he worked at a warehouse in Tracy and focused on raising his daughter.
Prosecutors later said Jones was not known to be involved with gangs or drugs. That detail became important because investigators and prosecutors believed Jones may have been killed because Price mistook him for someone else.
What Happened on April 23, 2016
According to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, Jones and his uncle were getting out of their car when a black Lexus drove up beside them. Prosecutors said Devenae Damarea Price, of Ceres, shot Jones four times in the face, neck, and chest. Investigators found two spent .40 caliber casings near Jones.
KCRA reported that officers found Jones with a life-threatening gunshot wound and that no firearm was found at the scene in the early stage of the investigation. Jones was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Witnesses Described a Black Car
Court coverage later said witnesses saw a black car pull into the apartment parking lot before the shooting. One preliminary hearing report said a witness described a passenger with dreadlocks getting out of the car while the driver fired from inside the vehicle.
Turlock Police investigators used witness statements to build a vehicle and suspect description. They searched the area after the shooting, but the suspects were not found in Turlock that night.
The Case Moved to San Leandro Two Days Later
Two days after the killing, an Alameda County Sheriff’s deputy tried to stop a black Lexus in San Leandro. The DA’s Office said the Lexus fled, went down a dead-end street, and crashed onto the front yard of a home.
Price, Kelley Trezvant of Modesto, and Deandranae Campbell of Livingston were arrested after the crash. Kevin Jerome Barnes Jr. escaped at the time, according to prosecutors and local court coverage.
Investigators later found two spent .40 caliber shell casings in the cowl area of the Lexus, near the windshield and hood. They also found a loaded .40 caliber handgun and loaded and unloaded magazines. However, the recovered firearm did not match the casings, according to the DA’s Office.
Ballistics and Cellphone Records Became Key Evidence
The DA’s Office said Department of Justice ballistics testing matched the two casings from the Turlock murder scene to the two casings recovered from the black Lexus. Prosecutors also said cellphone records placed Price and Barnes on West Hawkeye Avenue at the time of the shooting and later near the San Leandro vehicle stop.
Investigators also found that Price obtained the same black Lexus from an Oakland dealership just hours before the killing, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.
Early Charges and Arrests
In the first days after the shooting, Turlock police announced three arrests and said they were looking for Barnes. Price was arrested on suspicion of murder. Trezvant and Campbell were arrested as alleged accessories after the fact.
By May 4, 2016, Price and Trezvant had pleaded not guilty in court. Prosecutors identified Price as the suspected shooter and said Trezvant helped him evade capture. Barnes was later arrested in San Francisco after a police stop, according to local reporting.
Charges against Trezvant and Campbell were later dropped, according to court coverage. Barnes remained in the case as an accessory defendant.
The “Nate” Claim and the Intercepted Letter
During the case, Barnes reportedly said he had been dropped off at the apartment complex before the shooting. Court coverage said Barnes claimed he was going into his girlfriend’s apartment when he heard shots. Later testimony included a dispute over whether Barnes said “Nate” or “Nae,” with prosecutors pointing out that “Nae” could refer to Devenae.
Prosecutors also said jail staff intercepted a letter from Price before trial. The DA’s Office said the letter urged witnesses to lie and say someone else committed the shooting. Local court coverage reported that Price and Barnes pointed to a supposed person named “Nate,” while prosecutor Jeff Mangar argued that “Nate” was made up.
The Jury Convicted Price and Barnes
After a seven-week trial, a Stanislaus County jury convicted Price of second-degree murder with use of a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The same jury convicted Barnes of being an accessory to murder.
The jury reached its verdict after nearly a week of deliberations, according to local coverage. Price’s defense also presented a theory that law enforcement had set him up, though his own attorney reportedly opposed making that argument at the last minute.
Price Received 60 Years to Life
On Oct. 31, 2017, Judge Marie Silveira sentenced Price to 60 years to life in state prison. The DA’s Office said Price had been released from prison only 35 days before killing Jones after serving a seven-year sentence for armed robbery out of Contra Costa County.
During sentencing, Jones’ mother gave a victim impact statement and described how Jones worked hard to raise his daughter. Prosecutors said the judge followed the recommendation of Deputy District Attorney Jeff Mangar and imposed the maximum sentence.
Barnes Received Six Years
Barnes was later sentenced to the maximum term of six years in state prison for being an accessory to murder. The DA’s Office said Barnes was on probation out of Sacramento County for residential burglary when he committed the offense.
Local reporting also said Barnes was facing an unrelated attempted murder case connected to a 2016 shooting in Empire or Modesto-area reporting, but the Jones case conviction involved accessory to murder.
The Most Recent Update: Price and Pelican Bay
The most recent major confirmed update I found came from CDCR in 2024. CDCR said Price was under investigation after an alleged attempted homicide of a correctional officer at Pelican Bay State Prison on Aug. 24, 2024. CDCR alleged Price partially freed himself from handcuffs, struck an officer, and continued attacking the officer with an inmate-made weapon before staff stopped him.
CDCR said the officer suffered stab wounds to the head and minor injuries, received treatment at an outside medical facility, and was released that evening. CDCR also said the case would be referred to the Del Norte County District Attorney’s Office for possible felony prosecution.
CDCR also reported that Price had later in-prison sentences: four years and four months from Del Norte County in 2022 for battery of a non-prisoner and resisting or deterring an officer with threats or violence, and four years from Marin County in 2023 for possession or manufacture of a deadly weapon by an incarcerated person.
What Is Confirmed
Falane Jones was killed on April 23, 2016, outside the Villas Parkside apartments near Donnelly Park in Turlock. He was 37 years old and had gone there with his uncle to visit relatives.
Price was convicted of second-degree murder with use of a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Barnes was convicted of being an accessory to murder.
Price received 60 years to life. Barnes received six years.
What Is Not Fully Confirmed
The public record I found does not show that Jones caused the confrontation or had any gang or drug involvement. Prosecutors said the opposite: Jones was not known to be involved with gangs or drugs.
The mistaken-identity motive should be written as what prosecutors believed, not as something independently proven outside the court record and local coverage.
The 2024 Pelican Bay matter should be described as an allegation or investigation unless a later court record confirms charges or a conviction. I did not find a newer confirmed court outcome for that allegation.
