A dispute over marijuana may have been what led to the deaths of six people found dead in the high desert of San Bernardino County, according to authorities.
As officials with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced the arrests of five people linked to the murders, Sgt. Michael Warrick of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department confirmed the investigation started with a 911 call from a Spanish-speaking person last Tuesday, seeking help for his gunshot wounds.
“The caller told the dispatchers he was shot, but he did not know the location,” Warrick described.
The call was abruptly disconnected, but investigators tracked the phone and determined the call originated from a remote location in San Bernardino County. The cellphone coordinates were tracked to an area north of Adelanto near Lessing Avenue and Shadow Mountain Road.
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The California Highway Patrol’s airship assisted in locating the victims.
“As far as the motives, we are confident this appears to be a dispute over marijuana which resulted in murders,” Warrick said.
After investigators combed through the evidence at the scene for a day and a half, they determined all six victims suffered from fatal gunshot wounds while four of them had burn injuries as well.
Three of the victims were identified as 34-year-old Baldemar Mondragon-Albarran of Adelanto, 22-year-old Franklin Noel Bonilla of Hesperia, and 25-year-old Kevin Dariel Bonilla of Hesperia. The identities of the three other male victims have yet to be disclosed.
While Sheriff-Coroner Shannon Dicus declined to say whether this case was related to any cartel activities, he said violent confrontations over illicit marihuana are not uncommon in San Bernardino County, especially in the Shadow Mountains area in the Mojave Desert.
"This is the area that’s known for illicit marijuana," Dicus said. "Based on our training and experience, we believe a lot of these things occurring may be related to much bigger things going on."
Five people were being held without bail in connection with the murders. The suspects arrested Sunday night were been identified as 34-year-old Toniel Baez-Duarte, 24-year-old Mateo Baez-Duarte, 33-year-old Jose Nicolas Hernandez-Sarabia, 34-year-old Jose Gregorio Hernandez-Sarabia, and 26-year-old Jose Manuel Burgos Parra.
Authorities recovered eight firearms during the arrest at a compound in Piñon Hills near Los Angeles County, according to Warrick.
“I would describe it as a compound, it was close to a grow being formed, not active yet,” Warrick said.
In 2023, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department served 411 search warrants for illegal marijuana grows, according to Dicus. They recovered 655,000 marijuana plants and $370 million dollars.
“Since we’ve been investigating illegal marijuana grows, a number of body dumps have been related to this across our county,” Dicus said.
The announcement came about a week after the bodies were found near Highway 395 in El Mirage, about 35 miles east of Lancaster in the Mojave Desert. The bodies were on or near a dirt road that remained closed off by yellow crime scene tape hours later.
Two vehicles were at the scene -- a silver minivan and dark blue SUV. Several evidence markers were placed near the bodies and vehicles, which appeared to have shattered windows.
