On January 11, 2018, at approximately 9:48 PM, Ceres Officers responded to the report of a female who was allegedly shot inside the home in the 1300 block of River Valley Circle in Ceres. When Officers arrived they located the 68-year-old victim inside the home suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. The victim was immediately transported to an area hospital for treatment and later succumbed to her injuries.

Through the investigation it was determined that Matthew Nicholson, 28 years old out of Ceres, had been in his bedroom in the residence playing video games when he had gotten upset and started yelling. When the victim, Nicholson’s mother, went to check on him, Nicholson began to argue with her and he ended up breaking the headset to his video game. Nicholson then blamed the victim for the broken headset and threatened to kill the victim and Nicholson’s father. Nicholson then retrieved a handgun from the home and fired two rounds into the wall inside the home and then shot the victim in the head.

Nicholson’s father wrestled the firearm away from Nicholson. Nicholson fled the scene in a vehicle and went to a relative’s home in the City of Riverbank. Officers located the vehicle in Riverbank and a high risk vehicle stop was conducted where Nicholson was taken into custody without further incident.

Nicholson was transported to the Ceres Police Department for questioning and was later arrested for 187 PC homicide and was later booked into the Stanislaus County Jail where he is being held without bail. This is an active investigation and no further details will be released at this time.

If anyone has information related to this case they are encouraged to contact Detective Bryan Ferreira at (desk) 209-538-5616.