Folsom man dies after bar fight in Rocklin

A Folsom man died last week as a result of injuries he sustained from a bar fight on Pacific Street, ending a four-year hiatus of homicides in Rocklin.Shortly after midnight on Nov. 18, Rocklin police officers responded to Loree's Little Shack on Pacific Street after receiving a report of a bar fight. Police arrived and located Jered Ray Dewolf, 37, of Folsom, unconscious in the parking lot with what appeared to be major head injuries. Dewolf was transported to Sutter-Roseville Medical Center by ambulance where he was admitted into the Critical Care Unit, police said. Based on witness statements and videotape evidence, it was determined that James Manuel Hernandez, 26, of Fort Jones, Calif. was responsible for Dewolf's injuries. Rocklin Police detectives arrested Hernandez at his home in Fort Jones, a small town in Siskiyou County, on Nov. 20.Dewolf died that same day as a result of the injuries, police said."It is very unfortunate that a young man lost his life in a senseless bar fight," said Chief of Police Mark Siemens in a press release. "It is also unfortunate that the victim and suspect chose to come to Rocklin. This kind of violence is uncommon to this city."An employee of the bar, who wished to not give a name, said fights are very uncommon at the establishment and this was the first time anything like this has taken place there. The employee called the incident, "unfortunate."The employee said there was no security in place that night, but the bar has since employed a security guard."We get calls there occasionally," said Lt. Lon Milka of the Rocklin Police Department. "I don't know that I would say it's an over abundance of calls. But that's the whole nature of the business for a late night establishment that serves alcoholic beverages. We do get disturbance calls there."Milka added that nothing of this magnitude has been reported at the bar before.Hernandez was initially booked into the Placer County Jail on charges of assault but the charges have since been upgraded to murder.As of press time, Herndandez was still in custody and his bail has been reduced to $50,000, Milka said. If Hernandez is convicted, it will mark the first homicide in Rocklin since 2003. Milka said the last murder in Rocklin was a murder/suicide near Johnson Springview Park."It's not very common at all," he said.