Police Identify Man Found Shot on PCH

A man who died of a gunshot wound shortly after he was found on the shoulder of Pacific Coast Highway has been identified as Robert Alfonso Bowden of Los Angeles, authorities said Wednesday.

Bowden, 35, died of a single gunshot wound to the chest after he was spotted by two passersby Monday night near Deer Creek Road, about seven miles north of the Los Angeles County line, authorities said.

Detectives have refused to describe evidence found at the scene or reveal the caliber of the murder weapon. Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Keith Parks said Wednesday that Bowden was not shot where he was found.

“The area is very rural, isolated. The thought is running through our minds that the body was dumped there,” Parks said.

When Bowden was found, he was not carrying a weapon, drugs or a large sum of money, Parks said, and investigators are struggling to find a motive.

Nor did he have a wallet, but coroner’s officials were able to identify him from fingerprints, authorities said. Two detectives went to Los Angeles on Wednesday to investigate Bowden’s criminal history and consult with other law enforcement agencies, Parks said.

Records from Los Angeles County Superior Court indicate that Bowden was charged with a string of felonies between 1986 and 1997, including armed robbery, grand theft and possession of a controlled substance.

The same records also indicate that Bowden used several aliases, most frequently the names Willie Foster and Jeffrey Harris.

The release of Bowden’s name came nearly two days after his body was found, and officials said the delay was due to difficulty in finding Bowden’s family.

According to Mitch Breese, a deputy coroner at the Ventura County medical examiner’s office, Bowden’s closest relatives live in Michigan.

Officials on Wednesday contacted Bowden’s mother, Beverly Bowden, and Bowden’s brother, Mike Bowden, in Inkster, Mich. A second brother in Detroit, Larry Bowden, was also contacted. The family plans to bury Bowden in Michigan, Breese said.

The last time Beverly Bowden saw her son in Los Angeles was more than three years ago, she told officials.

“One brother said he had been trying for a while to get his brother to come home,” Breese said.