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Suspect Arrested -- In Iowa - ID'd by LBPD Detectives For Sept. 4 Double Homicide 900 Block Park Circle

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(Sept. 18, 2021, 3:25 p.m.) -- A suspect is in custody -- in Iowa -- for the Sept. 4 fatal shooting of Juan Guizar-Gutierrez and Maricela Honorato in the 900 block of Park Circle.


Sept. 4 on scene photo courtesy Lee Richmond Charley

In a solemn but businesslike midmorning news conference livestreamed by LBPD, carried live on LBREPORT.com's Facebook page(and now viewable on-demand here, LBPD Police Chief Robert Luna acknowledged the presence of familymembers at the news conference and noted they were still grieving.

Chief Luna in screen save from LBPD Sept. 18 news conference livestream

To put a human face on homicide victims, Chief Luna displayed photos of Mr. Guizar-Gutierrez and Ms. Honorato and included a moment of silence preceding his formal presentation...and refused to speak the suspect's name (provided in an LBPD release below.) ,p>


Chief Luna also credited LBPD Detectives for tenaciously pursuing the case and identifying the suspect.












In its release, LBPD said:

On Sept. 16, 2021, U.S. Marshals Southern District of Iowa Fugitive Task Force and Long Beach Police Department Homicide Detectives coordinated the arrest of Joshua Wells, 29, of Long Beach, arrested near a family member’s residence in Windsor Heights, Iowa, and was booked [on suspicion of] the Sept. 4, 2021 murders of Maricela Honorato and Juan Guizar-Gutierrez.

On Sept. 14, 2021, detectives presented their case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, resulting in an arrest warrant for two counts of murder. Detectives gathered evidence revealing that Wells was responsible for the shooting death of the victims.

On Sept. 16, 2021, two search warrants were served, one in the 900 block of Loma Vista Drive and one in 8100 block of Harbach Boulevard in Clive, Iowa. Both search warrant services resulted in the discovery of evidence which linked the suspect to the crimes.

Detectives believe the motive for the shooting was related to an earlier altercation that occurred in the area and do not believe the victims were known to Wells prior to Sept. 4, 2021. While there is no evidence that this crime stemmed from a potential road rage incident, detectives will not rule out the possibility.

With the assistance of the U.S. Marshalls, Wells will be extradited from Windsor Heights, Iowa to Long Beach, California. He is currently being held on $6,065,000 bail.

The Long Beach Police Department would like to thank our partners, the U.S. Marshals, for their assistance in apprehending Wells.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact Homicide Detectives Ethan Shear, Jose Rodriguez, or Michael Hutchinson at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips may be submitted through "LA Crime Stoppers" by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477), downloading the "P3 Tips" app to your smartphone (available at the Apple app store or Google Play), or by visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.

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Support really independent news in Long Beach. No one in LBREPORT.com's ownership, reporting or editorial decision-making has ties to development interests, advocacy groups or other special interests; or is seeking or receiving benefits of City development-related decisions; or holds a City Hall appointive position; or has contributed sums to political campaigns for Long Beach incumbents or challengers. LBREPORT.com isn't part of an out of town corporate cluster and no one its ownership, editorial or publishing decisionmaking has been part of the governing board of any City government body or other entity on whose policies we report. LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. You can help keep really independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online.


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