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EXCLUSIVE: Woman details fatal Paso Robles shooting

March 17, 2015
Marshall Savoy and Ashley Moss

Marshall Savoy and Ashley Moss

By KAREN VELIE

A woman who lived at the Paso Robles home where a man was shot and killed Saturday morning said the alleged murderer smirked as he loaded a clip into his gun and called for his victim to turn around.

Ashley Moss, 25, had moved into a spare room at the home of Tom and Joyce Yanaga in early March. On Thursday night, Moss, several friends and Tom Yanaga were talking about a fictional killer who hunted people when Yanaga began making comments about killing that concerned Moss.

“Tom said, ‘I wanna really kill someone,’ ” Moss said.

On Friday night, Marshall Savoy, a 32-year-old Atascadero man Moss had known since she was 7, arrived at the Gahan Place home of Tom Yanaga, his wife and his 17-year-old son. Savoy had stopped using drugs some time before and was asking Moss to let him drive her to a sober living facility, Moss said.

Moss and Savoy left the Yanagas, who Moss said were frequent meth users, in the house and went to a trailer on the property to talk. After sounds of a violent fight began coming from the residence, Savoy ran to the house and Moss followed him.

Thomas Nolan Yanaga

Thomas Nolan Yanaga

Savoy went into the house through an open front door and began arguing with Yanaga while Moss waited in the yard, Moss said.

“Marshall was screaming, ‘you don’t treat women like that, don’t touch women like that,’ ” Moss said.

Moss said she watched Yanaga, through a kitchen window, put a clip in his gun and walk towards Marshall.

“He said, ‘Hey Marshall,’ and began shooting,” Moss said.

Moss saw multiple flashes and heard the shots, though she said she could not see Marshall from where she stood. Marshall then stumbled out the garage door and fell on the ground in front of her, Moss said. He had been shot multiple times in the chest and abdomen.

“Tom told Joyce to call 911 and to say that Marshall was an intruder,” Moss said.

Yanaga then headed towards the trailer Moss had been in earlier with Marshall, Moss said. Afraid for her life, Moss hid near a back door.

“The police arrived and said, ‘Get on the ground, freeze, and threw Tom to the ground,’ ” Moss said.

Moss, too frightened to move, remained hidden. At the time, officers did not know she allegedly witnessed the murder.

“I made a promise to Marshall to get clean, and I will,” Moss said. “Marshall may be dead, but he is not gone, he is still here. He will never die.”

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff detectives arrested Yanaga, 52, on murder charges and booked him into the San Luis Obispo County Jail where he is being held without bail.

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Tom Yanaga was a little man in everyway, physically, mentally, personality, humanly just

in every single way!! When I first heard of Tom Yanaga he was described to me as a

complete self centered asshole. That was exactly what he was. He had money and a

great business at the time. What I realized is he had nothing that he had no real friends.

People involved themselves with him because they needed a job or for his money. No

one I ever knew or worked with him liked Tom for Tom. All because of how this little man

was. Tom was so self conscious about his height his boots were like a woman’s high

heels, even his work boots. He had (had) very good business partners and workers that

he abused and treated like shit. He was making a great living off them (partners and

workers) but still had to cheat and steal from them to the point of losing all of it!! He has

no true friends to lose. I hear he was running out of money. Now his family will suffer

because of his Little Man!!! Hey Tom bring your heels to prison you little bitch murderer!


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Hey, kaoc

Not to mention the wives he took from business partners and workers with his little bitch attitude.. I hope them women will be called to testify because most of them have current restraining order on Tommy

you remember the ol’ saying we use to hear our Father use “good only last so long” and “don’t screw with people because it will come back 10 times worse”


Tommy you should have stopped long ago….


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What about the children?

I hope like he// their mother is not involved in the lifestyle that eventually claimed the life of this young man, but sadly, I fear people who live like this may be attracted to others who do the same.


My heart breaks for those two adorable girls who have lost their daddy.

I hope someone stable and drug free is now caring for them.

They deserve a chance at a good life.


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It is sad that such a waste of life took a life. A life that from what I have read was trying to get back on track. We all at times lose our way in life so we can judge this young victim for that. His life was ended while stepping in and doing the right thing. His life was ended by a coward who only took from life and NEVER added anything positive to back. What a shame a drugged out tweeker like Tom Yanaga took the life of this young father. Now I personally don’t know but I heard Tom would get all tweeked out and would put on high heels and a dress. Then would want like to have rough sex with men. Now I can only say I heard this but sounds like he will have fun in prison.


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justbeware: The children are in great care and always have been. The girls mom has always been healthy, stable and drug free. She has raised those girls on her own, and now has amazing support from her husband now who has been a father figure for kids. They have a good life.


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Thank you for your post.

I have worried for those children since this story broke.

Thank you!


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I am surprised CCN ran with this. I know the temptation to be first with bleeding edge news is hard to resist, but surely this cannot help any case that law enforcement is forming.


Never just go with one source, especially when that source is extremely biased one way or another. I would have sat on this for a little longer…


Even if the “witness” did, in fact, witness the crime (partially), what we see and what actually happens are often quite different.


It is sad that a kid had to lose his life, maybe he finally decided to grow up – we’ll never really know now.


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It’s interesting that suddenly Marshal is being depicted as such a hero considering he was himself an ABUSER to multiple girlfriends. All this talk about “real men don’t treat women that way” when referring to the domestic dispute he is said to have tried to stop, yet he was in fact a violent man since childhood. Are we forgetting the drive-by shooting at age 16? He didn’t deserve to die & clearly many people will miss him. But he was not this person everyone is trying to make him seem.


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Marshall was a very helpful person. You may have known him at one point of his life; I knew him from the time he was a preteen, and he wasn’t violent at all. He made many mistakes in his life, and while he may have been abusive to multiple girlfriends, the ones I knew him to have had would beg to differ. You refer to his past, over 15 years ago. Do you not believe that people can change? Marshall most certainly did, and it wasn’t an easy road for him. No one is trying to make Marshall something he was not. He was human. He got into trouble. He kept trying to make a better life for himself. He accepted and loved his children, and gave them his heart. He got into fights. He learned from his past mistakes. He was a hero to the woman who he prevented from getting beaten, and he was a very loyal friend, as evidenced by many other situations other than the one posted by Ms. Moss who said he was trying to get her some help for her addiction. Marshall had what a lot of posters here who put him down don’t have; integrity.


You can honor his memory: http://www.gofundme.com/otyhfw


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Well I only referenced the drive-by shooting bc of the level of ridiculousness in such an act. If you want more recent incidents I can tell you that I’ve witnessed Marshall assault both men and women. He was a violent man In general since I met him in junior high & never stopped being a violent man as an adult. That was my point.


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Wow! I didn’t realize so many (CCN commenters) actually witnessed this event.


Nice substantiation of our human minds not liking an unsolved mystery. Fill in the gaps you must.


“News” article. (Author did not witness the event)

Judge/Jury-commenter who was not there forms ideas/decisions about the event

Punishment/execution sentence (if suspect deemed guilty) by commenter who was not there

Free from guilt (if suspect deemed not guilty) by commenter who was not there


Is this where we are as individuals living together in OUR society?


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At least you have some sound logic in your post. Totally agree with you.


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I can understand how, a long time ago, people could start using meth because they didn’t know of the danger. But, I can’t understand why anyone would use meth when everyone now knows how dangerous and addictive and deadly it is. Meth always gets mixed with guns because it causes paranoia and aggression. That mix frequently turns fatal.


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If it is as deadly as you say and always gets mixed with drugs, then we are in for a world of hurt because legal meth sales are at $9 billion per year. On the other hand, if we see the problem only with black market meth users, maybe the problem is not just the drug itself.


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Rest In Peace Marshall.


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Oh no, now we have two Roys… ;-)


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I can’t believe some of the comments that I am reading. The fact is that this Moss young lady came forward with what happened. Regardless if she uses drugs or not you have to give her story creditability because she is telling on herself. Why would someone do this if it weren’t true? This is a very sad situation because Joyce Yanaga has been beat many times before and she chooses to stay in the relationship. I would think that she feels some guilt in this because he was coming to her rescue and look what happened. Joyce if you are reading this you need to do the right thing and tell the truth and not lie for Tommy. If he gets convicted you will never have to worry about seeing him again to hurt you. What Tommy did was wrong plain and simple. What kind of person does this with their 17 year old son in the house? Tommy doesn’t deserve to see anything but prison walls from here on out. Marshall was a good man. He did what he felt was right morally and it was right. He didn’t deserve to die. Tommy Yanaga needs to pay for his actions, just as Marshall is. My heart goes out to the Savoy family. No matter what any jacka** says on here Marshall was a good person and loved by many. My heart goes out to Scott Yanaga also for having to witness such a horrific event.


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Marshall was a great man and father, who had more heart and courage than most. He had a history of helping others and this is another great example of that. He died doing something that came naturally to him and that is sticking up for those around him.


If you were a friend of Fuzz’s, don’t dwell on the way things ended, but instead cherish the time you got to spend with him. Keep his positivity and strength close to your heart.


“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”


http://www.gofundme.com/otyhfw


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