San Diego County Sheriff's Department: Elder Abuse And Domestic Violence Investigation

Press release from San Diego County Sheriff's Department:

09/24/2021 3:22 PM

LOCATION:       7000 Block of Great Southern Overland Route, Julian

VICTIMS:            Withheld

SUSPECT:           Juan Luis Gonzalez, 45-years-old   

On September 19, 2021, at about 2:45 a.m., Sheriff's deputies responded to the 7000 block of Great Southern Overland Route in Julian for a domestic violence incident. Deputies found a forty-seven-year-old woman and a sixty-nine-year-old man who had both been severely beaten and bound. They were transported by life flight to the hospital. Unfortunately, the man was gravely injured in the assault.   

Due to the extent of the injuries, the Sheriff's Homicide Unit responded and assumed responsibility for the investigation.

Sheriff's Homicide detectives identified forty-five-year-old Juan Luis Gonzalez as the suspect. Gonzalez is the boyfriend of the woman and an acquaintance of the man. In the late evening of September 18, 2021, Gonzalez beat the woman and man, bound them, and fled the area. The woman was eventually able to free herself and sought aid from a neighbor. Gonzalez is a resident of Escondido, but the investigation determined he fled the jurisdiction shortly after the assault. The San Diego Regional Fugitive Task Force was contacted and coordinated the search for Gonzalez across the Southwest United States.

On the evening of September 20, 2021, Gonzalez was detained by agents of the U.S. Border Patrol at a checkpoint in Hudspeth County, Texas. The San Diego District Attorney's Office has filed charges of 273.5(a) PC – Felony Domestic Violence, 368(b)(1) PC – Elder Abuse, and two enhancement charges of 12022.7(a) PC – Infliction of Great Bodily Injury. Gonzalez is currently in the custody of the Hudspeth County Sheriff's Office awaiting extradition.

The woman was treated and has since been released from the hospital. The man remains in the hospital with life-threatening injuries. State law prohibits the public release of the victims' information due to the nature of the charges.

The San Diego Sheriff's Department would like to thank the Hudspeth County Sheriff's Office, the San Diego Regional Fugitive Task Force, and the U.S. Border Patrol for their invaluable assistance in locating and arresting Gonzalez.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (858) 285-6330/after hours at (858) 565-5200. You can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Prepared by:  Thomas Seiver, Lieutenant

Sheriff's Homicide Unit   (858) 285- 6330

This press release was produced by San Diego County Sheriff's Department. The views expressed here are the author’s own.