SAN BERNARDINO, Calif, Jan 30, (AP): The six men found dead at a remote dirt crossroads in the Southern California desert last week were likely shot to death in a dispute over marijuana, sheriff's officials said Monday as they announced the arrests of five men suspected in the violence.
Authorities discovered the bodies Tuesday in the Mojave Desert outside El Mirage after someone called 911 and said in Spanish that he had been shot, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Sgt Michael Warrick said during a news conference.
All the victims were likely shot to death, and four of the bodies had been partially burned together, Warrick said. A fifth victim was found inside a Chevy Trailblazer, and the sixth was discovered nearby the following day, he said.
"It looks like illicit marijuana was the driving force behind these murders,” Sheriff Shannon Dicus said, adding that the area is known for illegal marijuana growing operations.
The scene showed a "level of violence” reminiscent of a drug cartel, but investigators couldn’t immediately confirm that cartels were involved, officials said.
Five men, ranging in age from 24 to 34, were arrested, and eight firearms were seized after deputies served search warrants Sunday in the Adelanto and Apple Valley areas of San Bernardino County and the Pinyon Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles County, Warrick said at a news conference.
Officials said investigators believe all the suspects in the case are in custody. They were held without bail.
Authorities identified four of the victims as: Baldemar Mondragon-Albarran, 34, of Adelanto; Franklin Noel Bonilla, 22, of Hesperia; Kevin Dariel Bonilla, 25, of Hesperia; and a 45-year-old man whose name was withheld pending family notification. Coroner's officials were trying to identify the remaining two men.
Investigators believe Franklin Bonilla was the man who called 911, Warrick said.