Roseville police have arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection with the fatal stabbing of a homeless woman downtown earlier this week, authorities said.
The teen was taken into custody Friday morning after a regional SWAT team served a search warrant at a home in the 100 block of Buckley Court in Roseville, said Lt. Nick Gaines, a Roseville Police Department spokesperson.
The boy was booked into Placer County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of murder, Gaines said. Police did not release his identity.
The victim — identified by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday as Cherie Dodge, 57 — was found stabbed near Atlantic and South Grant streets about 1 a.m. Wednesday. Officers responding to a report of a stabbing found Dodge, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators with the Police Department’s investigations unit and Real Time Crime Center spent the next two days gathering evidence and pursuing leads, Gaines said.
Detectives identified a person of interest and obtained a search warrant for a residence. The Roseville-Rocklin regional SWAT team assisted investigators in serving the warrant Friday morning.
Police said there was no known relationship between Dodge and the teenager. Investigators did not disclose a possible motive.
“The arrest is an important step in this investigation, but we recognize that it does not lessen the loss felt by Ms. Dodge’s family and friends,” Gaines said in the department’s statement.
The department said it would continue investigating the killing and remain in contact with Dodge’s family.