Huntington Beach : Fingerprints Link Body to 7 Different Aliases

Fingerprints from an unidentified man whose body was found floating in a city lake have been linked to seven different aliases believed to have been used by the victim.

Police spokeswoman Jo Anne Bergstrom said Monday that while the man’s identity is still not known, law enforcement officials have confirmed that the Latino man, described as being in his mid-20s, had a long arrest record throughout the state.

“We don’t know what types of crimes yet, but it doesn’t seem to be one specific crime,” Bergstrom said. “I think he’s just been in trouble his whole life.” She said the man was first arrested in 1973.

“We’ll have to go through all seven names . . . .” Bergstrom said. The investigation, she added, will include going through old arrest records to find out “who bailed him out all those times and who are his friends.”

The body, wrapped in a plastic bag, was found by two fishermen on April 6 in Talbert Lake, an old, water-filled rock quarry near Ellis Avenue and Gothard Street.

Although a chain “heavy enough to sink the body” was found around the victim’s neck, the cause of death is still not known.