Terry Joe Harris, a 58-year-old man from Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California, was one of two people found dead after what began as a routine traffic stop in Lake County on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026. The case unfolded in the Clearlake area when California Highway Patrol officers tried to stop a gray 2000 Chevrolet Suburban for an expired registration violation on State Route 53 near Dam Road. The SUV did not immediately pull over, continuing until it stopped near 18th Avenue and Oak Street.
When the vehicle finally stopped, authorities said passenger Alex Kenneth Schussolin of Clearlake got out and tried to run. Officers quickly detained him. The driver, Jasslynn Pearl Critchett, also of Clearlake, remained at the scene. What had started as a traffic stop changed immediately when officers noticed blood inside the Suburban and traced it toward the rear passenger area. In the back seat, they found Terry Joe Harris unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
As officers secured the area, they found a firearm near the place where Schussolin had fled. Investigators from the California Highway Patrol's Northern Division Investigative Services Unit and other agencies took over the case. During the investigation, authorities learned there may have been a second victim connected to the same incident. That search led detectives to State Route 175 over the Hopland Grade, about 1.5 miles north of the Lake-Mendocino County line, where they found Desiree Carmen Fuentes, also of Santa Rosa, dead down an embankment.
Authorities believe the violence began in Sonoma County and then moved into Lake County before CHP officers stopped the Suburban. Lake County District Attorney Susan Krones said investigators believed Harris and Fuentes were killed in Sonoma County, but because their bodies were discovered in Lake County, her office was taking jurisdiction. Officials also said the case appeared to be isolated and that there was no ongoing danger to the public.
Investigators said they had not found evidence that Harris or Fuentes had any previous connection to Schussolin or Critchett. According to the district attorney, the victims and suspects were believed to have met for the first time that same Sunday in Santa Rosa. Authorities also said the Suburban did not belong to Schussolin or Critchett. Harris and Fuentes had lawful possession of the vehicle, which belonged to someone else, and prosecutors said that was the basis for the carjacking charge.
Schussolin and Critchett were arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail. Each was charged with two counts of murder, carjacking, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and being a felon in possession of ammunition. Prosecutors said both defendants could face life without parole if convicted. They were arraigned in Lake County Superior Court and placed on no-bail holds, with later court appearances scheduled for appointment of counsel, entry of plea, and bail review.
A motive had not been publicly established in the early stages of the investigation. Officials said they were still trying to determine the exact sequence of events, how the victims encountered the suspects, and what led to the killings. Family members remembered Harris as generous and caring, someone who would give away what he had and who, according to his son, “wouldn't even hurt a fly.” His family was left trying to understand how a chance encounter could have ended with him dead in the back of a vehicle and another Santa Rosa resident discarded along a rural stretch of highway.
