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California Authorities Arrest 61-Year-Old Woman In 1993 Shooting Of Store Owner
Investigators believe Shu Ming Tang, a husband and father, was killed at his Devonshire Little Store in a "robbery gone wrong."
Nearly three decades after a “beloved” corner store owner was gunned down in his San Carlos, California shop, authorities have arrested an Oklahoma woman for what they believe was a “robbery gone wrong.”
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office announced Rayna Hoffman-Ramos, 61, had been arrested for the murder of Shu Ming Tang at a press conference Thursday in a case that had baffled investigators for decades and was once been featured on “America’s Most Wanted.”
“Mr. Tang was well known in the San Carlos community as the owner of the Devonshire Little Store, a now 87-year-old small corner store beloved by neighbors,” San Carlos Mayor Sara McDowell said Thursday. “Mr. Tang was a husband, a father and a friend who came to the United States to provide a better life for his family. His death shook the community of San Carlos and has remained a topic of discussion over the years.”
San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Jacob Trickett said San Carlos Police received a call just before 1:00 p.m. on April 26, 1993 that someone had been shot at the store and arrived to find Tang with a single gunshot wound. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died “soon after.”
Witnesses reported seeing an adult female leave the store around the time of the shooting and investigators at the time believed Tang had been killed in a “robbery gone wrong,” Trickett said.
Detectives launched a “lengthy investigation” and followed up on various leads over the years.
“Despite detectives hard work and national attention, the murder remained unsolved for nearly 29 years,” Trickett said.
Then, in 2018, the cold case unit at the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office — which has provided contracted police services to San Carlos since 2010 — took a new look at the case, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office obtained by Oxygen.com.
“With the recent investigation, detectives identified a person of interest which led investigators to Washington County, Oklahoma,” authorities said.
While conducting simultaneous operations in both Sacramento, California and Washington County, Oklahoma on March 16 detectives were able to uncover “supporting evidence” they needed to make an arrest.
Hoffman-Ramos was taken into custody on a murder warrant and is currently being held in Oklahoma awaiting extradition.
Trickett said the “initial investigation” continues to suggest that Tang had been killed as a result of a botched robbery.
At the press conference Thursday, Sheriff Carlos G. Bolanos thanked the Tang family for their support over the years.
“I hope that your family will finally get the justice and closure that you deserve,” he said.
The sheriff’s office was assisted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Washington County, Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office, the Washington County, Oklahoma District Attorney’s Office, the Sacramento Police Department and the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, authorities said.
