Shasta County jury finds man guilty of 2021 double homicide in Oak Run

A Shasta County jury convicted a man of a 2021 double homicide in Oak Run that left two Oregon men dead, the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

Simon Tikue, 39, was found guilty on all counts and all special allegations for the murders, which took place in November 2021 , the DA’s office said in a news release.

Tikue is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. on Sept. 25 in Shasta County Superior Court. The DA’s office said Tikue faces the possibility of life in prison without parole.

On the afternoon of Nov. 29, 2021, sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers were called to Zig Zag Lane in Oak Run, where they found two men shot to death and lying next to two parked vehicles, investigators said.

The two victims were later identified as Meba Solomon Getachew, 32, of Ashland, Oregon, and Gunnar Eliot Yeager, 33, of Medford, Oregon, according to the sheriff’s office.

Investigators determined that Getachew and Yeager traveled to Shasta County to sell marijuana to Tikue before they were robbed and murdered, the district attorney’s office said.

DNA evidence on a glove found at the scene of the two murders matched the DNA that was recovered from a September 2018 robbery and kidnapping that also involved Tikue and marijuana, the district attorney’s office said.

In the 2018 case, Redding police officers were called to the Best Buy on Hilltop Drive to get information that Tikue was involved in a marijuana robbery and kidnapping in which the victim was zip tied and held at gunpoint, investigators said.

“The victim reported that Tikue then took his car to a remote location. DNA evidence was obtained from the zip ties and steering wheel of the victim’s car,” the district attorney’s news release said.

David Benda covers business , development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on X, formerly Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta County jury finds man guilty of 2021 double homicide in Oak Run