'He was in the wrong place at the wrong time'

Galt murder victim was a peaceful man, his wife says

Steven "Stroker" Strother was a man who never looked for a fight, but he got caught up in one on Saturday and it cost him his life, according to his wife, Kim Mittelstadt.

Strother, 25, was shot to death that night outside a house party celebrating several birthdays in Herald. A hundred people or more were there, his wife said.

"He wasn't a bad person," Mittelstadt said Thursday while attending her husband's visitation at Ben Salas Funeral Home in Galt. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, apparently."

A 2001 Galt High graduate, Strother was killed after a friend of his was also shot in the 12800 block of Alabama Road, near Borden Road. The friend, a 23-year-old Galt resident, was shot after an argument a short time earlier, Mittelstadt said.

Strother's wife said she didn't see the shooting. In fact, Strother's friend ran up to her and told her he had been shot. Mittelstadt said she was about to drive the friend to the hospital when someone told her that Strother had also been shot.

"It hurts, and it's sad. That's about all I can say," she said.

John Michael Dillon, 21, of Clayton, was arrested Sunday morning at a residence in Concord. He is charged with murder and attempted murder, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

Strother, a father of two, is better known by his nickname "Stroker" than his first name. He had lived in Galt since about the age of 15, when he was adopted by Jim and Shirley Strother, Mittelstadt said.

Strother had just taken a test to become a California Highway Patrol officer, his wife said. He was a security officer at Jackson Rancheria and took criminal justice classes at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton.

He got his nickname from some friends while he worked in park maintenance for the city of Galt in 2002. His friends had trouble pronouncing his last name, Mittelstadt said.

The identity of the second victim, who was treated for injuries at Lodi Memorial Hospital, was not disclosed by the sheriff's department. Mittelstadt said she cannot disclose the name either, according to the family's wishes.

Anyone who may have information regarding the shootings may call the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department at (916) 874-5115.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.