CHP officers, lawyer and five others arrested in killing of 26-year-old

Carson has been an outspoken critic of the woman who will likely be prosecuting him, Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager, for years.

Carson, who entered the district attorney’s race in the area last November, has been charged with first degree murder and is accused of orchestrating the killing and enlisting the help of two brothers who own a liquor store.

Three California Highway Patrol officers, a Modesto criminal defense attorney and five others have been arrested in connection with the 2012 killing of Korey Kauffman, a 26-year-old Turlock resident whose body was found more than a year later by hunters in a remote Mariposa County forest.

Kauffman went missing in March 2012.

The brothers who own the Pop N Cork liquor stores in Turlock, Baljit Singh Atwal and Daljit Singh Atwal, also both face charges of first-degree murder (with lying in wait and firearm enhancements), conspiracy to commit a crime and false imprisonment.

That was the last time Kauffman, who made his living by recycling scrap metal, was seen until his remains were uncovered and his death ruled suspicious.

McFarlane and Quintanar are on administrative leave despite their charges, and Wells is no longer employed by the department due to conduct unrelated to the murder investigation. He reportedly left a friend’s house to steal irrigation pipes from Carson’s property.

If Cooley felt unease about the situation at Carson’s property, he had good cause.

“This has been a long three year investigation into the death and homicide of Korey Kauffman…”, said Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson, whose department took the lead on the multi-agency task force of investigators.

Former CHP Officer Walter Wells is suspected of murder. Carson has emphatically denied any involvement in an alleged criminal conspiracy linked to Kauffman’s death.

“I saw people there and decided not to go”, Cooley said.

The two officers could not immediately be reached for comment about the allegations.

The affidavit describes an ongoing dispute between Carson, a neighbor and Kauffman – who was friends with the neighbor – over thefts from Carson’s property. He is already in custody and was the only person originally charged in Kauffman’s death.

Robert Lee Woody is listed as an arrestee in the affidavit. The following year he ran to unseat Fladager as district attorney, but garnered less than 30 percent of the vote.

All nine suspects are expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.

Editor’s Note: Due to the complexity of the investigation and the lengthy affidavit, the Journal will be publishing a series of stories and video reports examining the case and the people involved in greater detail over the next few weeks.