Detectives have arrested three additional suspects, joining one already in custody, in connection with the fatal shooting of a man inside his Apple Valley home nearly 10 years ago.
Michael Anthony Brooks Jr., 54, was gunned down on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, at his home in the 12600 block of Apple Valley Road.
Nearly a decade after the case went cold, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department investigators announced the arrest of 27-year-old Michael Austin Roberts of Apple Valley in connection with the killing in February. He has since pleaded not guilty to murder charge and was being held without bail.
As the cold case investigation continued, officials announced three additional arrests on Wednesday, June 17.
The suspects were identified as Hector Rodriguez, 30, of Adelanto and Denise Reames-Watkins, 70, of Lucerne Valley, along with Alexander Francisco Cortez, 30, of Pendergrass, Georgia, sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.
Reames-Watkins and Rodriguez and were arrested in the High Desert on June 14 and June 16, respectively, while Cortez was taken into custody in Georgia on June 5 and awaiting extradition proceedings back to Southern California. Bail was set at $1 million each pending legal proceedings, records show.
The shooting
Brooks was found dead inside his house, suffering from a single gunshot wound.
Homicide detectives determined the death was a homicide and launched an “extensive investigation,” sheriff’s officials said at the time.
“Multiple people of interest were identified and interviewed. However, after exhausting all leads, the case eventually went cold, and a suspect was not identified,” according to the sheriff’s department statement.
But detectives developed a break in the case in 2025.
“The Sheriff’s Cold Case Homicide Team routinely reexamines cases that have been previously exhausted and work to develop new information and leads,” the statement said.
No details regarding a possible motive in the shooting have been disclosed.
Anyone with information on the case was urged to contact the Sheriff’s Homicide Detail at (909) 890-4904. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to the WeTip hotline at (844) 909-3096.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Three suspects arrested in Apple Valley cold case murder investigation
Reporting by Brian Day, Victorville Daily Press / Victorville Daily Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brian Day, Victorville Daily Press | USA TODAY Network
