Lodi man killed in Stockton

23-year-old found shot inside semi truck; no arrests yet

A day after he changed his phone number and obtained domestic violence restraining order forms, a 23-year-old Lodi man was fatally shot after finishing work Tuesday night, his family and investigators said.

Ajmer Hothi

Ajmer Singh Hothi was found shot inside a semi truck around 7:30 p.m. in the 1800 block of South Broadway Avenue in Stockton, San Joaquin County Sheriff's spokesman Les Garcia said. By Wednesday evening, there had been no arrests and investigators had no suspects, said Sgt. Tom Desmarais, head of the homicide unit.

The Tokay High School graduate was making payments on the truck, worked full-time and was planning to bring his wife to the United States from India, said his sister and only sibling, 21-year-old Kiranjit Hothi. Tears filled her eyes as she described going to search for her brother Tuesday night after he failed to return home or answer his phone.

"Around 6:30 or 6:45, I said we should go look for him where he parks his truck. We got there and saw the door open. I said, 'Mom, something's wrong,'" she said. "I tried to wake him. He was blue."

Kiranjit Hothi saw blood on her brother's face and bullet holes through his shirt. She phoned for help but her brother was pronounced dead at the scene.

Garcia had little information on a motive, but family members said Ajmer Hothi had been stalked for months by the family of his ex-girlfriend. The Stockton girl's father had found out about their relationship and wanted Ajmer Hothi to divorce his wife and marry the other girl, Kiranjit Hothi said. Ajmer Hothi refused.

He'd changed his phone number Monday and the family had installed cameras at their Norfolk Drive home, located in a well-kept south Lodi neighborhood of stucco homes with tile roofs.

Strange items, possibly witchcraft-related, were left on their doorstep, his sister said, but they were harmless so the family threw them in the garbage. One time, she said, the ex-girlfriend's family was pounding on the front door late at night until the Hothis called police. They left by the time Lodi officers arrived.

The former girlfriend's family even followed the Hothi family to India in January when they went to a wedding, Kiranjit Hothi said.

Things got worse in recent weeks, she said, when the former girlfriend's father made telephone threats against Ajmer Hothi.

The man could not be reached for comment Wednesday, and Desmairas said detectives were still gathering information from various witnesses. They hadn't ruled out other possibilities, including robbery or a random shooting, he said.

But Ajmer Hothi's parents became so worried that they were trying to get him to move across the country.

He wasn't too sure about the idea, though, because he'd lived in Lodi for a decade, had a good job and was making payments on both the big rig and his car, his sister said.

San Joaquin County court records showed no cases filed against Ajmer Hothi. His sister said he spent his spare time hanging out with friends and family, coming home from work each day and greeting his mother before doing anything else.

"He just loved his parents. He was really a family person," Kiranjit Hothi said. "I just want justice for my brother."

He generally got up early and worked long hours, hauling fruit and various items for a trucking company. Ajmer Hothi would then park his truck at the Stockton truck yard and drive home to Lodi.

There were two exceptions this week: When he never returned home Tuesday and a day earlier, when he left work early in order to get a thick packet of domestic violence restraining order papers. His sister was going to help him fill them out, she said as she looked at the blank forms.

Friends and family spoke in hushed voices in the home Wednesday, and soft sobs echoed through the house. Kiranjit Hothi said her mother hadn't stopped crying and also hadn't slept since finding her only son dead.

"He was a happy-go-lucky guy who just wanted to have fun," said his second cousin, Raje Hothi. "He was so young. He'd just barely started his life."

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.