LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Five suspects have been arrested in the fatal shootings of six people whose bodies were found last week strewn in a desolate patch of California’s Mojave Desert, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said on Monday.
Officials said the killings are believed to have stemmed from a dispute over the illicit marijuana trade.
Sheriff’s deputies responding to a call discovered the bodies last Tuesday night in a remote area of high desert scrub off Highway 395 near the community of El Mirage, some 60 miles(97 km) northeast of Los Angeles, officials said.
Sheriff’s Department officials said all six victims died of gunshot wounds, four of them also had been burned, and that the suspects were arrested at an illegal cannabis cultivation site that was under development.
The victims’ bodies were found at the intersection of two dirt roads. Los Angeles television station KTLA-TV reported last week that aerial footage from the scene showed bloodied bodies on the ground with dozens of evidence markers and bullet casings surrounding them.
Two vehicles – an SUV and a van – were also left at the scene. KTLA said the SUV was riddled with bullet holes and appeared to have some of its windows blown out. One of the bodies was found in one of the vehicles.
This story originally appeared on Investing
