Death of Crestline man under investigation

By DOUGLAS W. MOTLEY

Senior Writer

Sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers were dispatched to the 23000 block of Crest Forest Drive in Crestline around 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16 due to a report of the death of a yet-to-be-identified Crestline man at a residence in an apartment complex located at the intersection of Crest Forest and Fern Drives, near Triangle Park in Top Town Crestline.

Upon arrival at the incident location, The Alpine Mountaineer encountered a yellow-taped roadblock on Crest Forest Drive between Scenic Drive and Triangle Park. At each end of the roadblock there were several parked sheriff’s patrol units with flashing red and blue lights, as well as several white, unmarked SUVs. Soon after, Lt. Craig Harris from the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station appeared and informed this reporter that he could not enter the taped-off area due to an ongoing investigation.

According to Harris, there had been what he called a “medical response” to the report of a deceased person and that no one had been transported to a medical facility. “Because of suspicious circumstances,” said Harris, the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau has been called upon to investigate the incident.

Sheriff’s deputies stationed in the area were tight-lipped about the incident, as were several nearby residents who claimed they didn’t hear any shots fired and didn’t know anything about a death in the area. However, one area resident said he heard someone yelling, “I’m going to die, I’m going to die. Somebody, please help me.” By around 9 p.m. there were about a dozen nearby residents and or family members milling around inside the taped-off area adjacent to the apartment complex. At one point a sobbing, middle-aged woman was escorted away from the residence to a grey sedan by a young man who said her husband had passed away. On Sunday, Feb.19, Samantha Rojas-Gudino stated on Facebook that her father had passed away.

As of press time on Tuesday, The Alpine Mountaineer learned from Sgt. Ben Henry at the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Station that, although the death was initially categorized as suspicious, the investigation has been downgraded to a less suspicious death investigation. “There are a number of things that could have caused the death. It could have been natural causes, an accident or a suicide,” he said, noting that the case is still under investigation.

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PHOTOS:

closed to the public

Crest Forest Drive at the intersection of Scenic Drive in  Crestline was closed to the public on the evening of Thursday, February 16 due to an ongoing death investigation. (Photos by Douglas W. Motley)

roadblock

Roadblock on Crest Forest Drive near Fern Drive in Top Town Crestline.