San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson plans to seek the death penalty against two of the five men charged with murdering and robbing six people who were shot to death, officials said, during a marijuana buy in a remote desert location northwest of Victorville in January.
The notice was made in the minutes of a hearing in Superior Court in Victorville on Thursday, May 9.
Jose Manuel Burgos Parra, 26, of Adelanto, and Jose Nicolas Hernandez-Sarabia, 33, of Adelanto, face the death penalty if convicted as charged.
The minutes said the district attorney will pursue life in prison without parole for Toniel Baez-Duarte, 34, and Mateo Baez-Duarte, 24, of Apple Valley, and Jose Gregorio Hernandez-Sarabia, 34, of Adelanto, if convicted as charged.
The men have pleaded not guilty to all of their charges.
The DA’s Office on Friday, May 10, would not explain what prompted it to seek capital punishment for the two men and not the others.
“At this time, based on the evidence obtained, we believe we are seeking the appropriate punishments,” said Jacquelyn Rodriguez, a DA’s spokeswoman.
Both Burgos Parra and Nicolas Hernandez-Sarabia, who face death, have been charged with six counts of murder, each with three sentencing enhancements for firearms violations, and six counts of second-degree robbery, each with three enhancements for firearms violations.
But Mateo Baez-Duarte and Gregorio Hernandez-Sarabia have been charged with the same counts and face life without parole if convicted as charged.
Toniel Baez-Duarte has been charged with six counts of murder and six counts of second-degree robbery with no enhancements. The DA is seeking life without parole for him.
On Jan. 23, a 911 call from a man who said he had been shot drew law enforcement to a dusty area known as El Mirage about 4 miles west of Highway 395 near Shadow Mountain Road. Deputies immediately found five victims. The sixth, the 911 caller, was found the next day nearby.
All six suffered fatal gunshots, while four were also set ablaze by their attackers, the Sheriff’s Department said.
The victims were identified as Baldemar Mondragon-Albarran, 34, of Adelanto; Franklin Noel Bonilla, 22, and Kevin Dariel Bonilla, 25, of Hesperia; Narcisco Sandoval, 47, of San Rafael; Jose Ruelas-Calderon, 45, of El Mirage; and Adrian Ochoa-Salgado, 34, of Llano.
The next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 9.
