Juan Pablo Bernal Gomez was 29 when he was found dead in the Mojave riverbed near Stoddard Wells Road and Dante Street on February 11, 2022. Deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department discovered his body; investigators reported he had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Gomez had been living in an abandoned trailer on the property for about two months before his death.

Reports say Gomez had a disagreement with a 56-year-old transient, Theodore Marion Valentine, days before the shooting; Valentine was known to frequent the area and to have prior conflicts with Gomez. On March 10, 2022, deputies arrested Valentine near the Mojave riverbed and booked him into the West Valley Detention Center without bail on murder charges. Authorities are asking anyone with information to come forward to assist the investigation.

If anyone knew Gomez, Valentine, or saw activity near Stoddard Wells Road and Dante Street around February 11, 2022, please share what you know.