Slaying suspect may be linked to two other deaths
A suspect in the fatal shooting of a Pomona man may be linked to two bodies found Saturday in the Mt. Baldy area and Chino, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Robert Louis Caballero, 32, of Pomona was arrested Saturday after leading police on a short chase when he refused to pull over for a minor traffic stop. He was detained on suspicion of murder in the Sept. 29 shooting of Armando Vidana, 25.
Information gathered after the pursuit led detectives to the other two bodies, and the Sheriff’s Department is working with the Pomona and Chino police departments on the case, said sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore.
The body of David Arthur Padilla Jr., 29, of El Monte was found at 11:55 a.m. Saturday beneath a freeway overpass in the 3800 block of Walnut Avenue in Chino, according to a San Bernardino County coroner’s statement. There were signs of upper-body trauma, the statement said.
The body of Lorraine Minjarz, 32, of Covina was found about four hours later at the 1.34 mile marker on Mt. Baldy Road, according to information from the Sheriff’s Department and the L.A. County coroner’s office.
There was no immediate word on what caused Minjarz’s death, said coroner’s investigator Richard Hanna.
Caballero is being held without bail at Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles on a felony charge of evading arrest.
Police said in September that Vidana’s death was gang-related, but sheriff’s officials said Monday that the Padilla and Minjarz killings were not.
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richard.winton@latimes.com
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