San Jose Woman Among Three Accused of Hiding Suspect in Murder of 8-year-old

Police have arrested three women,  including one from San Jose, on accessory to murder charges, accusing them of hiding a man suspected of killing an 8-year-old Hayward girl in Merced earlier this year.

Dhante Jackson, 33, was arrested Saturday in Newark on suspicion of murder after a six-month investigation in the death of Sophia Mason, Merced police said.

Sophia's mother, Samantha Johnson, 30, was arrested as a suspect in the case early on and remains in custody at the Merced County Jail.

Following Jackson's arrest over the weekend, search warrants were served and police arrested Laronna Larkins, 42, of Merced; Mayra Gonzalez, 33, of Newark; and Daberka Thompson, 40, of San Jose.

The women were all arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to murder after investigators determined they allegedly helped Jackson by providing him with shelter and financial support while he was on the run over the past six months.

Johnson -- while in custody in Dublin in March for prior child abuse charges from 2021 -- provided information to investigators about the alleged cruelty inflicted upon Mason leading up to her death, including being forced to live in a shed in Jackson's yard and suffering sexual and physical abuse.

Sophia's body was found in Jackson's home in Merced on March 11 after police received a request for assistance from the Hayward Police Department as part of an investigation into the girl's disappearance.

The Merced County District Attorney's Office charged Johnson with child abuse and homicide and issued a warrant for Jackson's arrest.

After months of searching for the suspect, investigators located Jackson in hiding in Newark and arrested him.

 

5 Comments

  1. There’s not enough punishment for these cretins. Hope his “cool name” makes him a popular date in prison.

  2. Law abiding citizens of California went to the polls and a majority approved of a proper punishment for these miscreants – voters also chose to reaffirm a Death Penalty in California and even approved a proposition to speed up the Death Penalty process.

    But Soft-on-Crime and so-called “Progressive” office-holders – Like hypocritical Gavin Newsom – again decide not to follow the will of the voters.

    2016 – Proposition 66 – Death Penalty Procedures
    Result: Approved.
    A “yes” vote supported changing the procedures governing state court appeals and petitions that challenge death penalty convictions and sentences, including requiring the amount of time that legal challenges to death sentences take to a maximum of five years.

    2016 – Proposition 62 – Repeal of the Death Penalty
    Result: Defeated
    A “yes” vote supported Repealing the death penalty and making life without the possibility of parole the maximum punishment for murder.
    A “no” vote opposed this measure repealing the death penalty.

    On March 13, 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed an executive order placing a moratorium on the death penalty.
    Sleazy Gavin Newsom again went against the will of the voters and advocated for Violent Killers and ignored the Victims of Murder and the families of Murder Victims.

  3. What’s crazy is Dhante and the 3 other women hiding him, all worked at the Facebook campus. Some of those women were on the security team! Imagine!

  4. SF: What do you expect? They were trained and groomed by Facebook fascist who hate America and hate law-enforcement.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *