On the warm evening of Saturday, July 2, 2022, a tragic and violent event unfolded on a road just outside the city limits of Atwater, California, forever altering the lives of several families. Twenty-four-year-old Eli Correa of Modesto was a male occupant in a vehicle traveling on Santa Fe Drive near Franklin Road when another car approached and unleashed a barrage of gunfire.
The unexpected attack, occurring shortly after 11:00 p.m., was a senseless act of violence that left two dead and one critically injured.
Inside the targeted vehicle with Eli Correa were his childhood best friend, 23-year-old Ruben Coronado of Lathrop, and an adult female. The hail of bullets was devastatingly effective, killing both Correa and Coronado at the scene. The female passenger sustained critical injuries but survived the horrific ordeal. The suspect vehicle, later identified as a gray or silver SUV, fled the scene immediately after the shooting, disappearing into the night and leaving a scene of chaos and heartbreak in its wake.
The Merced County Sheriff's Office immediately launched a homicide investigation. In the months and years that followed, detectives diligently pursued leads, seeking to bring those responsible to justice. As part of their investigation, they released surveillance footage of the suspect vehicle to the public, hoping for a break in the case. Later, based on anonymous tips, forensic artists created and distributed digital sketches of two persons of interest. The Sheriff's Office made repeated pleas to the community for any information that could help them identify the individuals involved in the double homicide.
After a comprehensive and lengthy investigation spanning over three years, a significant breakthrough occurred. On a Monday in December 2025, the Merced County Sheriff's Office, with the assistance of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, arrested 30-year-old Justin Vanrassan in Las Vegas. His arrest marked a pivotal moment in the long and arduous investigation into the murders of Eli Correa and Ruben Coronado. While the arrest brought a sense of progress to the case, the investigation remains active as authorities continue to piece together the events of that fatal night.
