On January 23, 2024, deputies traced a 911 call from 22-year-old Franklin Noel Bonilla to the area of Lessing Avenue and Shadow Mountain Road in unincorporated Adelanto, California. When officers arrived they found six men dead at a remote desert meeting spot where the group had arranged a marijuana transaction; four of the victims were partially burned. The victims are listed as Baldemar Mondragon-Albarran, 34, of Adelanto; Franklin Noel Bonilla, 22, of Hesperia; Kevin Dariel Bonilla, 25, of Hesperia; Jose Ruelas-Calderon, 45, of El Mirage; Narciso Sandoval, 47; and Adrian Ochoa-Salgado, 41.

Following searches in Apple Valley, Adelanto, and Pinon Hills, five people were arrested on January 28, 2024: Toniel Baez-Duarte, 34; Mateo Baez-Duarte, 24; Jose Nicolas Hernandez-Sarabia, 33; Jose Gregorio Hernandez-Sarabia, 34; and Jose Manuel Burgos Parra, 26. All five were booked on murder charges and held without bail. Authorities say the apparent motive involves a dispute over illegal marijuana operations.

Anyone with information about the meeting, the shootings, or these victims is asked to contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.