A 56-year-old transient man from the Victorville area was arrested earlier this week for his alleged role in the February killing of another man in the riverbed of the Mojave River.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Theodore Marion Valentine, 56, on Thursday in connection to the deadly shooting of 29-year-old Juan Pablo Bernal Gomez.

Gomez’s body was found in the Mojave riverbed near Stoddard Wells Road and Dante Street on the night of Friday, Feb. 11. When deputies arrived on scene, they found Gomez dead from multiple gunshot wounds, but no suspect was located.

Through their investigation, detectives learned that Gomez had been living in an abandoned trailer on the property for the two months leading up to his murder. Investigators also learned that Gomez had been involved in an argument with Valentine just days before the shooting.

On Thursday, Valentine returned to the riverbed where he was detained and interviewed by law enforcement. He was then booked into the West Valley Detention Center where he is being held without bail while he awaits murder charges.

Anyone with information related to Gomez’s death is asked to contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Detail at 909-387-3589. You can also submit an anonymous tip online.