Laura Arredondo, sister of Jose Arredondo keeps her brother’s portrait at her home. She speaks to and cries at the picture as a way to help her cope with his death. (photo by Jose Gaspar)
It’s been five years this week since the brutal murder of Bakersfield businessman José Arredondo, whose body was found in a pool of blood in his condominium in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico the night of July 15, 2019. It’s a date especially difficult for his sister, Laura Arredondo.
“That day I go to the cemetery, bring him flowers and I just sit there and cry and talk to him,” said the sister in a previous interview.
Arredondo, 60, was a well-known entrepreneur with various car dealerships in Kern County and other business ventures. His death, however, remains a mystery. He had been tortured and beaten to death. Who was responsible for the planning and execution of his death? And why was he killed? Those are questions Arredondo’s siblings continue to struggle with.
SUSPECT QUICKLY ARRESTED
Arredondo’s body was discovered on the morning of July 16 by a maid who had arrived at the condominium complex. Three days later, police in Cabo San Lucas quickly arrested a suspect, Roberto Gonzalez, a longtime friend and golfing partner of Arredondo. Gonzalez had apparently been the last person to see Arredondo alive after he and Arredondo had spent the day golfing. A security guard at the condominium complex allegedly told police he had seen Gonzalez leaving Arredondo’s unit on the night of July 15, 2019.
But the arrest did not sit right with José’s brother, Sergio.
According to the brother, he was led to believe by Mexican authorities that Gonzalez was a murder suspect. In a previous interview, Sergio Arredondo said Comandante Jose de Jesus Garcia of the State Attorney General’s office told him that before Gonzalez was to be arrested, agents were going to kidnap him. “Garcia’s comment to me was, ‘We’re going to take him to the desert and he’s going to tell us what happened,’” said Sergio Arredondo.
At a court hearing, the security guard who allegedly witnessed Gonzalez leaving Arredondo’s condo was a 17-year-old minor. Under Mexican law, police cannot question a minor without a parent, guardian, or psychologist present. Police failed to mention no such person was present when the young security guard was questioned, nor did prosecutors deny it. The minor testified he was held against his will by police, was beaten and intimidated by agents of the State Attorney General’s Office, and forced to sign papers implicating Gonzalez in the murder of José Arredondo.
“I did not know what I was signing, I was just scared,” said the minor at the court hearing.
Gonzalez spent 14 months in jail before the state’s case unraveled when a judge ruled that all evidence gathered by police was obtained illicitly and or improperly. There were serious flaws in how police collected and stored bloodstains allegedly found in Gonzalez’s vehicle that matched the victim. The State Attorney General’s office conceded it did not have sufficient evidence and released Gonzalez in September 2020.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
The defense attorney for Gonzalez, Jaime Tacher of Mexico City said police need to concentrate on who stands to benefit from the death of José Arredondo.
“Follow the money. You need to follow the money to know what’s going on here. In this type of homicide, you have to follow those closest to the victim to figure out a motive,” said Tacher in a previous interview with Telemundo, Bakersfield. Tacher maintained that his client was being used by police as a scapegoat for Arredondo’s murder.
In September 2019, shortly after Tacher’s claim the widow of Arredondo, Laura Elena Camacho Arredondo refuted Tacher’s comments.
The law firm of Chain Cohn Stiles representing the widow issued a statement on her behalf that read in part, “We understand that details included in recent media reports are inaccurate, and are actually gossip, hearsay, and speculation. Additionally, it’s important to note that much of the information included in reports is being communicated from a criminal defense attorney for the leading suspect in José’s murder, who is actually attempting to try his case through the media. It’s important to let the investigation continue until its end, and not circulate rumors. The truth will be known soon enough.”
But it’s been five years since the murder of José Arredondo, and nothing has come soon enough in solving this case.
Since the release of Gonzalez, Arredondo’s siblings have not seen much progress in the case, and say they cannot get answers from authorities in Mexico and in the United States. “What’s being hidden? What’s being covered up?” said Angel Arredondo nephew of the murder victim. The nephew said his uncle was a U.S. citizen killed in a foreign country, but the feds aren’t saying much. The FBI has declined to comment on the case or to confirm if it is investigating.
José Arredondo’s widow has not granted any interviews to speak about her husband’s murder case. The pair had a daughter. José Arredondo also had a son, Samuel Kim Arredondo from a previous marriage.
An immigrant from Michoacan, Mexico, José Arredondo’s story is the classic rags to riches type tale. He came to the United States when he was 11 years old, started washing cars, and became a car salesman under the tutelage of a mentor. He later purchased a string of car dealerships in Kern County and elsewhere. He was also a philanthropist, providing scholarships and supporting charitable causes.
Five years after his brutal murder, José Arredondo’s siblings continue to push for answers. While the killing was carried out in Cabo San Lucas, they want investigators to explore other possibilities. Could this murder have been planned in Kern County, but carried out in Mexico?
“I think we’re looking in the wrong place. I think Mexico is not the answer, I think the answer is here,” said nephew Angel Arredondo.
