Citrus Heights police announce arrests in two shootings from 2015

Updated Sept. 7, 3:54 p.m.–
Following an extensive eight-month investigation, the Citrus Heights Police Department on Tuesday announced the arrest of three suspects in two December 2015 shootings.

RV Watson, 26, and Dashawn Tinsley, 22, were arrested for the Dec. 28, 2015 shooting death of 19-year-old Andrew Vanhunnik on the 7900 block of Kingswood Dr. in Citrus Heights. The pair were also charged with the attempted murder of another man who was struck several times by gunfire during the same incident.

Police said the investigation also found the pair were involved in a separate shooting incident that occurred in the Greenback Estates area four days prior, on Christmas Eve. In that shooting, police said Tinsley and Watson, along with Dennis Gibson, 20, are charged with attempted murder of a 26-year-old who was struck multiple times by gunfire, but survived.

As previously reported on The Sentinel, the Christmas Eve shooting occurred around 6:15 p.m. on Donegal Drive, where police said a man was shot while visiting relatives. A dark vehicle believed to have been involved fled the scene, but no other details were released.

The Kingswood Drive shooting involved reports of shots fired around 2 a.m. at the Creekside Colony apartments, near Sunrise Boulevard. Responding officers found Vanhunnik dead in a vehicle, and another man injured from gunshot wounds.

A motive for the shootings was not included in the news release and police Det. Wesley Herman told The Sentinel he was “unable to comment on motive due to the type of case this is and the fact that the trial will be forthcoming.”

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Police said the investigation involved “hundreds of hours of interviews” and the serving of over 50 search warrants. Multiple agencies in several jurisdictions were also involved.

Police credited the help of community members in leading to the arrests, stating that the department had “received multiple leads and sources of information throughout these investigations.”

Related: Body ID’d in latest Citrus Heights shooting; 6th homicide of 2015

From 2015: 2 shot, 1 killed in Citrus Heights shooting

According to inmate records from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Dashawn Kwama Tinsley is ineligible for bail and is charged with four felony counts of murder and attempted murder. Records also show he had an outstanding warrant for felony robbery charges.

RV Allahali Watson is also ineligible for bail and is charged with four felony counts of murder and attempted murder. Court records indicate the 26-year-old was a convicted felon, with a criminal history dating back to 2011. When arrested, he had several outstanding warrants for charges of felony burglary, resisting a peace officer, and possessing a firearm as a felon.

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Dennis Calieo Gibson is also ineligible for bail and is charged with a felony count of attempted murder. He also faces felony robbery charges in a separate case listed in court records.

According to the Sacramento County Superior Court website, the trio are scheduled to appear for a Sept. 28 settlement conference at the Lorenzo Patiño Hall of Justice in downtown Sacramento.

*Note: a prior version of this story incorrectly stated that Gibson had been released on bail on Aug. 30. CHPD confirmed with The Sentinel on Wednesday that Gibson is ineligible for bail and was not released.