“California DOJ criminalists provide a valuable service to local law enforcement departments throughout California, processing crime scenes and evaluating evidence.  This often means they are travelling great distances and working different hours of the day and night.  We thank them for their service to public safety and criminal justice.”

– CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

COVELO – On March 20, 2024, at approximately 5:29 a.m., the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from Brandy Kay Mathieson of Covelo. Mathieson reported that she was a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her boyfriend, Johnathan Lee Draughan, recently of Covelo.

Mathieson reported that Draughan was in the house and he was armed with a firearm. While on the phone, gunshots were heard by the dispatcher and Mathieson was no longer speaking with dispatch. A short time later, Draughan spoke on the phone with the dispatcher and advised he had shot his girlfriend and he would wait for deputies to arrive. Deputies, who were responding from Willits, arrived and took Draughan into custody without incident. Mathieson was located inside the residence and life saving measures were attempted by the deputies and then continued by local fire resources. Mathieson showed no signs of life and was declared deceased at the scene. Mathieson and Draughan’s 2-year-old child was present and was transported to an out-of-county hospital for injuries unrelated to the shooting incident.

Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office Detectives responded and took over the investigation. Criminalists from the California Department of Justice labs in both Eureka and Santa Rosa responded to assist in processing the crime scene for evidence. Draughan was transported and booked into the Mendocino County Jail on a charge of homicide.