Woman, 2 boys found dead in California desert; suspect arrested in Colorado
04/30/2020 11:15 am PDT
UPDATE 5:50 p.m. PT:
A man who was being sought in connection with the killing of his girlfriend and two boys found dead in an Apple Valley desert has been arrested in Colorado, KTLA reports.
Louis Gabriel Lucero, 35, was arrested on an unrelated charge in Eagle County, Colorado about 12:30 p.m., according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. He is also being held on a murder warrant and will be scheduled for an extradition hearing before returning to Southern California.
APPLE VALLEY, Calif. (KTLA) -- An “armed and dangerous” suspect is being sought in connection with the killing of his girlfriend and two boys found dead in an Apple Valley desert, officials said Thursday.
Just before 11 a.m. Wednesday, San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies in Victorville were called to a home on Ferndale Road, where they found signs of a struggle, officials said.
The suspect, Louis Gabriel Lucero, 35, lived in the home with his girlfriend, Erlinda Villareal, 42, but the pair were not home and hadn't been seen since earlier that morning.
About 5:35 p.m. Wednesday, a person off-roading near Waalew and Corwin roads in the Apple Valley desert discovered the bodies of Villareal and two boys, about 9 and 12 years old. The relationship between the victims has not been released.
Investigators believe the victims left the home with Lucero, were killed in another location and abandoned in the desert area. The victims' causes of death were not immediately released.
It is believed that Lucero left the area in a silver-colored 2008 Ford Explorer with California license plate number 6HCF706.
