A Coachella murder suspect who allegedly locked himself in a trailer for several hours was in custody Tuesday.
Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Thermal station were sent to the 51000 block of Calle Empalme in Coachella shortly after 10:15 p.m. Monday for a reported assault with a deadly weapon, the department said.
They found the victim dead at the scene with evident traumatic injuries, officials said, prompting them to secure the scene. Central Homicide Unit personnel took over the investigation.
The decedent remained unidentified as of Tuesday afternoon.
Over the course of the investigation, Mario Gonzalez, who was said to be in his mid-40s, was identified as a suspect and located in a nearby trailer, according to the department. Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau officials were called to the location, with Gonzalez exiting the trailer and being taken into custody “after several hours of negotiating,” the department said.
Inmate records show Gonzalez was booked into Indio’s John Benoit Detention Center on suspicion of murder on $500,000 bail.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with relevant information was encouraged to contact Gonzalez at 951-533-4629.