Santa Rosa police have arrested a Clearlake man in connection with the city's first homicide of 2026, following a fatal shooting Monday evening on Marlow Road. Officers responded around 9:15 p.m.
to reports of gunfire in the 3000 block of Marlow Road, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department. Dispatchers also received reports that a woman had been shot and that bystanders were performing CPR before officers arrived.
An officer arrived minutes after the first 911 call and took over CPR until medical personnel reached the scene, but the woman was pronounced dead a short time later, police said. The release of the woman's identity is pending confirmation by the Sonoma County Coroner's Office and notification of next of kin.
Investigators said the preliminary investigation indicated the woman was standing near a driveway entrance to a shopping center when witnesses saw a man wearing dark clothing and a face covering approach and shoot her multiple times before he continued walking south on Marlow Road. Detectives spent the night reviewing residential and business surveillance footage and by Monday morning identified a vehicle believed to be connected to the shooting, police said.
Shortly before 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 9, a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy located the vehicle near Chanate Road and Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa.
Three people inside the vehicle were detained during a traffic stop. Investigators said officers found several pieces of evidence linked to the shooting, including a revolver.
Police arrested Dwight Kestler, 56, of Clearlake on suspicion of murder and for violating probation. A second occupant of the vehicle, Jill Bynum, 57, of Clearlake, was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact and on unrelated warrants, police said.
The third person detained during the traffic stop was released after investigators determined they were not involved, police said.
Detectives served a search warrant at a residence associated with Kestler in the 3200 block of Eighth Street in Clearlake, where investigators said they found additional evidence connected to the shooting. Kestler and Bynum were being held without bail Wednesday, June 10, at Sonoma County jail.
Both are scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon. Investigators said they are still working to determine a motive in the shooting.