A 61-year-old woman was recently arrested in Oklahoma in connection with the fatal shooting of the owner of Devonshire Little Store in San Carlos in 1993, a case that shook the local community and remained unsolved for nearly three decades despite receiving national attention, including a feature on “America’s Most Wanted.”
Rayna Hoffman-Raymos, 61, is in custody in Washington County, Okla., for the cold case killing of Shu Ming Tang on April 26, 1993.
Just before 1 p.m. that day, Tang was fatally shot at the store at 20 Devonshire Blvd. in what investigators believe was a “robbery gone wrong,” said San Mateo County Sheriff’s Lt. Jacob Trickett. A woman was seen leaving the store shortly after the shooting, but the case remained unsolved for nearly 29 years, Trickett said.
In 2018, San Mateo County Sheriff’s detectives, crime analysts and cold case investigators reviewed the existing investigation. Trickett declined to state what new information or evidence led to the arrest of Hoffman-Raymos, saying he didn’t want to compromise the investigation. He said the recent investigation identified a person of interest, leading investigators to both Sacramento and Washington County, Okla. Simultaneous operations conducted at those locations on Wedesday, March 16, “turned up additional leads and evidence,” Trickett said. Hoffman-Raymos, who once lived in San Mateo, was arrested in Oklahoma, where she’s been living in recent years.
Earlier this week, Undersheriff Mark Robbins, one of the original detectives to investigate the case when he was with the San Mateo Police Department, and Sheriff’s detectives, met with Tang’s family to share the news of the arrest.
“We have cold cases, but that shouldn’t be confused with closed cases,” Trickett said. “We owe it to the family of victims, however long it takes, to give some measure of justice.”
Hoffman-Raymos is currently awaiting extradition to San Mateo County on a no-bail murder warrant. Trickett said she has a criminal history but declined to go into detail so as to not “compromise the investigation.” Trickett says Hoffman-Raymos is the sole suspect in the investigation.
San Carlos Mayor Sara McDowell expressed appreciation to the Sheriff’s Office “for their tireless efforts to bring closure to this case, and our heartfelt condolences to the Tang family for their loss.”
“Mr. Tang was well know in the San Carlos community as the owner of the Devonshire Little Store, a now 87 year old small corner store beloved by neighbors,” Mayor McDowell said. “Mr. Tang was a husband, a father, and a friend who came to the U.S. to provide a better life for his family. His death shook the community of San Carlos and has remained a topic of discussion over the years. On behalf of the City of San Carlos, I would like to express our appreciation for the great work provided by Sheriff’s detectives and cold case investigators, our support for Mr. Tang’s family, and our thanks to the people of San Carlos for their assistance over the years.”
