News

The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office has made an arrest in a 2018 shooting case that left a 47-year-old Trinity County man dead on State Route 36.

According to a press release, Matthew Gabriel Susmilch, 38, was arrested Wednesday in the Mendocino County jail, where he is being held on unrelated charges, on suspicion of the murder of Anthony Joseph Calderone.

Calderone was found bleeding from the head in a pickup truck near mile marker 43 on State Route 36 east of Dinsmore just before 3 a.m. on Dec. 7, 2018, by deputies responding to a report of a car crash and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. The truck had damage consistent with having been in a crash and a second vehicle police said was "possibly involved" was later found on Van Duzen Road near Alton.

The press release from the sheriff's office does not say what in the years-long investigation led to Susmilch's arrest Wednesday. The release states he will be transported to Humboldt County to face charges of murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm "at a later date."

See the full press release copied below:

Arrest made in 2018 Dinsmore-area homicide

An arrest has been made in the 2018 homicide of Anthony Joseph Calderone.

On March 22, 2023, 38-year-old Matthew Gabriel Susmilch was arrested on a Ramey Warrant at the Mendocino County Jail, where he was also booked on unrelated warrant charges out of Mendocino County.

Susmilch’s arrest comes after a four-year investigation into the shooting death. Calderone was located deceased in the early morning hours of December 7, 2018, inside a vehicle in the area of State Highway 36 near mile marker 43.

Susmilch was booked on charges of felon in possession of a firearm and murder. He will be transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for prosecution at a later date.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.