Whipple murder suspect caught
Mendocino County Sheriff Facebook page.
A manhunt for the suspect in last month’s murder of 20-year-old Nicholas Whipple has come to an end. Lee Anthony Joaquin, who is suspected of beating and shooting Whipple to death in Covelo early in the morning of Wednesday, March 29, was arrested just south of Ukiah yesterday afternoon around 3:00. California Highway Patrol stopped him for speeding and found he had twenty pounds of cannabis and no ID on him. They took him to the Mendocino County Jail, where he is being held with no bail. Detectives were securing a search warrant for the vehicle he was driving yesterday.
Sarah Reith came to Mendocino County in 2008 and worked as a reporter and freelancer, joining KZYX as a community news reporter in 2017. She became the KZYX News Director in March, 2023.