APPLE VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - Authorities arrested an “armed and dangerous” man Thursday in Colorado after he allegedly killed his girlfriend and her two young sons the day before and left their bodies in the desert in Southern California.
Louis Gabriel Lucero, 35, allegedly killed the family at an unknown location and dumped their bodies in the desert in Apple Valley, where someone off-roading discovered them Wednesday evening, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Lucero was arrested in Eagle County, Colorado, on an unrelated charge Thursday afternoon, the sheriff’s department said. He is being held in Colorado on the other charge, which was not specified, and a warrant for the homicides. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Deputies initially responded to the Victorville home Lucero and his girlfriend, Erlinda Villareal, 42, shared after a relative in the house called authorities Wednesday morning. The couple were gone but deputies discovered signs of a struggle inside, authorities said.
Villareal’s body, along with her 9- and 12-year-old sons, were found about eight miles (12.87 kilometers) away from their home around 5:30 p.m. Authorities did not immediately provide details about how they were killed.
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