Two Bodies Discovered in Car Trunk

The bodies of two men were found Wednesday in the trunk of a Cadillac convertible that had been abandoned at a remote rock quarry, police said.

The victims, who were shot to death, had not been identified late Wednesday night. Police described them as male Latinos, one in his 20s and the other in his 30s. Both had several gunshot wounds to the upper torso and head, said Sgt. Steve Rodig.

Discovery of the bodies came after a tow-truck driver was called to the Owl Rock Products Co., near Santa Ana Canyon Road and Gypsum Canyon, about 10:40 a.m. to impound the illegally parked 1988 Cadillac. Police said the driver called them after noticing a strong odor coming from the trunk. Officers found the bodies when they opened the trunk.

Police said the bodies had been in the car for at least several days, but other details about the crime were sketchy. The car had apparently been left at the quarry Friday night.

“We don’t know a whole lot at this point,” Rodig said.

The car had not been reported stolen and is registered to a Manuel Avilez, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Attempts to reach the owner of the car were unsuccessful.

Employees at the quarry called police Monday to complain about the car, which had been left alongside a dirt road and appeared to be abandoned.

Officers who viewed the car Monday apparently did not notice an odor and advised the company to have a tow truck remove it.

“The company did not call to have the car removed for a few more days,” Rodig said. “When they did, police responded back to the area.”

Lynn Graack, a spokeswoman for Owl Rock Products, which is headquartered in Arcadia, declined to comment on the grim discovery.

Dennis Hafer, a truck driver with Robertson’s Ready-Mix, which is several hundred yards down the hill from Owl Rock, said he saw the car on the side of a dirt road Saturday morning. The car had not been there at 4 p.m. Friday, he said.

Both Hafer and Malcom Erbst, who also drives a cement mixer for Robertson’s, said that there is usually a guard at the gate near where Gypsum Canyon Road turns into a private dirt road leading to Owl Rock.

But for the past three weeks, the men said, there has been no guard there.

Times correspondent Danielle A. Fouquette contributed to this report.