Suspect in El Mirage Desert Massacre Had Cartel Connections Beyond Illegal Marijuana Grows

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Late night on January 23, a scene, reminiscent of the movie "No Country for Old Men" hit local Southern California news outlets. Five (later a sixth) bodies were found at a dirt crossroads in the middle of the high desert, in an area in Southern California with the closest town being miles away.

One of the vehicles next to the bodies was riddled with bullet holes and blown-out windows. Four of the bodies had been burned. One was found some distance away. As news helicopters showed the scene being investigated; authorities began piecing the events of the killings together. 

But one more piece of information may require assembling a different puzzle altogether.

One of the men arrested for the massacre was recently also charged as part of Operation Smoke Jumpers targeting a fentanyl, meth, and heroin trafficking network based in Tijuana, San Diego, and into Los Angeles.

The federal indictment was filed on December 21, 2023, a month prior to the killings and burning of the men in the California desert for which Toniel Baez-Duarte and 4 other men were arrested by San Bernardino County authorities.

6 Robbed & Killed in California Desert

Franklin Noel Bonilla made one last desperate plea to save his life. “I’ve been shot,” he told 911 dispatchers in Spanish, according to authorities. “I don’t know where I am.”

Officials pinged Franklin's cellphone, locating him near a dirt road intersection in the remote desert community of El Mirage. That night, the Sheriff called in a CHP helicopter to help with the search and they discovered the scene of the massacre.

The five men accused of shooting to death six people also robbed their victims, according to the criminal complaint filed in Superior Court.

“This mass murder, done in a dark secluded desert, clearly illuminates the violence and crime that exists as a direct consequence of illegal marijuana operations,” said San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson.

The District Attorney’s Office has not disclosed what was taken. Sheriff Shannon Dicus has said the groups met up for a marijuana deal under the cover of darkness at the intersection of the two dirt roads about 25 miles northwest of Victorville, several miles from Highway 395.

It was then, according to the complaint, that 4 men opened fire with rifles. Based on the indictment, Toniel Baez-Duarte is the sole person not charged with 'discharging a firearm in the commission of a felony.'

Both Sergeant Michael Warrick, who headed the specialized investigations division/homicide detail investigation into the killings and Sheriff Shannon Dicus have stated that those responsible for the murders are limited to the 5 suspects in custody.

“We are confident we have arrested all the suspects in this case,” Warrick said.

“I can guarantee you we got the five right people,” Dicus, who has thoroughly reviewed the investigative file on the matter, said.

Image released by SB Sheriff to help identify victim Ochoa-Salgado.

One of the six victims went well over a week without being identified. The Sheriff’s Department released what they hoped were recognizable images of the man’s face, scars along his body, and a tattoo saying Gio on the left side of his chest. Later in the evening following the release of the images, Sheriff’s officials said they had identified the man as 41-year-old Adrian Ochoa-Salgado, who lived in Llano, a small town between Adelanto and Palmdale.

The other victims have been identified as Baldemar Mondragon-Albarran, 34; Franklin Noel Bonilla, 22; Kevin Dariel Bonilla, 25; Jose Ruelas-Calderon, 45; and Narcisco Sandoval, 47, according to investigators.

When the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office announced that they had made the 5 arrests, of all California local residents; two sets of brothers were named. If convicted as charged, all five could face the death penalty. District Attorney Jason Anderson has not said whether he would seek that.

The apprehension of brothers Toniel Baez Duarte and Mateo Baez Duarte included a dramatic scene recounted by neighborhood eyewitness Deanne Rodarmel. A Sheriff's SWAT team announced demands over a loudspeaker in both English and Spanish for the brothers to come out of their residence unarmed. At the time of the announcement, the suspects were not present at the location. They were arrested on January 28 and booked at High Desert Detention Center without bail.

Toniel and his younger brother Mateo Baez-Duarte, 24, who also lives in Apple Valley, pleaded not guilty in Superior Court in Victorville to 6 counts of murder and 6 counts of second-degree robbery.

The three other defendants, brothers Jose Nicolas Hernandez-Sarabia, 33, and Jose Gregorio Hernandez-Sarabia, 36; and Jose Manuel Burgos Parra, 26, also plead now guilty having been arraigned a couple days later because they had undisclosed medical issues not related to the shooting.

Toniel Baez-Duarte

Toniel Baez-Duarte is listed as being 35 years old in one indictment and 33 years old in another and in some news reports. However, his county inmate record and mugshot show he is 34 years old, born July 5, 1989.

Toniel Baez-Duarte appears in another, seemingly unconnected at first, federal indictment out of the Los Angeles office. The indictment stemmed from Operation Smoke Jumpers targeting a trucking company accused of using their semi-trucks to smuggle drugs including fentanyl, and meth. The narcotics seized were hidden inside several fire extinguishers in trucks hauling scrap metal into the US.

According to comments made by the Department of Justice, "We cannot connect the federal case to the matter that led to him being jailed on state charges."

Toniel is listed with aliases including "Saul Camacho" and "Exnel Baize Duarte," and is charged with the overall drug conspiracy to distribute large quantities of fentanyl, meth, and heroin.

Individually, Count 10 of the indictment charges Toniel and a key defendant in Mexico, Juan Carlos Moreno Flores, known as "Muñeco". It charges them both with possessing nearly 8 kilograms of heroin with intent to distribute it on August 31, 2022. Nearly a year and a half ago. "Muñeco" is currently a fugitive based in Mexico.

Operation Smoke Jumpers

According to a warrant to search a phone seized when Carlos Espinoza was arrested the week prior, the investigation focused on Carin Trucking, a San Diego-based outfit owned by Oscar Ahumada Leyva with at least six semi-trucks that regularly entered the United States from Mexico to deliver suspected narcotics to the Los Angeles area.

Most of those charged are Mexican Nationals who made frequent trips across the border, typically smuggling substantial quantities of drugs in semi-trucks. The drugs, including counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, were concealed in fire extinguishers initially disguised as scrap metal and later in extinguishers that appeared legitimate, according to the search warrant filed. 

“Investigators have observed multiple drug transactions involving truck drivers and their semi-trucks,” according to the affidavit in support of the search warrant.

“The truck driver would drive into the United States from Mexico, and cross the border usually carrying a load of scrap metal, and concealed inside will be a scrap metal fire extinguisher containing drugs. The truck driver would then make his way up to Los Angeles, to meet a courier, who would pick up the drug-packed fire extinguishers for further distribution.”

Authorities made 13 seizures that yielded approximately 680,992 fentanyl pills, 3 kilograms of fentanyl powder, 17 kilograms of heroin, and 10,418 pills containing methamphetamine.

Seven listed in the indictment are considered fugitives in Mexico. 

• Víctor Daniel Meza Ortiz, 'Neighbor'
• Alfredo Araujo Algandar, 'Puma' or 'Compadre'
• Francisco Fabián Torres Gaona, 'Borrego'
• Juan Carlos Moreno Flores, 'Muñeco'
• Domingo Ruiz Soto, 'Mingo'
• Victor Ignacio Beltran Audelo
• Nery Alvarado Alvarado, 'Martín'

Toniel Baez-Duarte is listed as 'already in state custody' in the indictment.

It is unknown if the two cases and drug networks are fully integrated or if Toniel was the sole fringe connector. The timing of the busts by the FBI, two weeks following the arrests of the brothers, could have been a result of news of the killings and arrest of Toniel; suspecting other traffickers would flee to Mexico or change their operations and destroy evidence. It is likely that more information will become available during the state and federal trials on the possible connections. And if the killings of the six men may not have occurred if the arrests in Operation Smoke Jumpers had taken place sooner.

The San Bernardino District Attorney has not yet disclosed if Toniel was at the scene of the killings or involved in another manner. 

Based on the information provided, authorities describe the scene of events of the two groups meeting in that remote desert area for a large marijuana deal. The indictment 'California v. Toniel BaezDuarte,' et al. and photo array charts list Toniel Baez-Duarte first, and, having not fired a weapon during the killings, Toniel may be seen as the leader of the group of killers in the desert. Toniel's younger brother was one of the five arrested.

Sources Borderland Beat, Borderland Beat, DOJ, SBC DA, LA Times, SBC Sentinel