A quiet Twentynine Palms neighborhood was rocked by two related shootings and an apparent kidnapping over two days in June. On the evening of Thursday, June 18, deputies were called to a home in the 6300 block of Lupine Avenue after a man was shot; he was airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center with gunshot wounds to the armpit and leg and was expected to survive. Witnesses said the shooter dropped his weapon and fled into the desert.

About 16 hours later, at roughly 12:49 p.m. on Friday, June 19, deputies responded to a 911 call from the 6100 block of Lupine Avenue reporting a kidnapping. At that scene they found 62-year-old Robert Murphy shot and pronounced dead. Investigators linked the two shootings and the kidnapping to 30-year-old Bristen Banales, who was arrested nearby in the 6300 block of Cahuilla Avenue and booked on suspicion of murder and related felonies.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney charged Banales with murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, shooting at an inhabited dwelling and 12 firearm enhancements; he pleaded not guilty. Proceedings were later suspended after a judge raised a mental health doubt and ordered an evaluation, so the case remains unresolved. If anyone knew Robert Murphy or witnessed activity on Lupine Avenue that night, can you share what you saw?