On July 8, 2023, 34-year-old Natasha Irizarry of Ceres, California, was fatally shot outside her room at the Driftwood Inn on South Ninth Street in Modesto. Deputies from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office found her with multiple gunshot wounds and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Irizarry was a single mother of three daughters, aged 13, 14, and 16, and cared for her ailing mother and grandmother. She worked multiple jobs, including as a filler operator at SunOpta — the first woman to hold that position — and as an Uber driver. Family and friends remember her as a devoted mother who attended her daughters’ softball games and spent time outdoors with them.

Authorities arrested 31-year-old Juan Carlos Martinez of Modesto on July 11, 2023, charging him with homicide, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy; charges related to a separate motel robbery that allegedly occurred during the same incident name 36-year-old Luis Vega of Modesto as an accomplice. Vega initially evaded capture but turned himself in at the Stanislaus County Jail on July 25, 2023, after a warrant was issued. Enhancements allege use of a firearm; law enforcement has not disclosed a motive.

If anyone has information that could assist the investigation, please contact Detective Juan Rodriguez or Stanislaus County Area Crime Stoppers.