Bakersfield, California—
On their way to visit a friend’s trailer in Mojave after a late meal, a father and his young kid were startled by a series of loud, sharp noises. The noise resembled the cracking of wood.
They saw a man, whom they called “Youthster,” getting on his bike and pedaling away from the trailer.
He was hailed by the man’s son. I watched while the child gazed. The man saw that as he rode away, he maintained a hand in the front pocket of his sweatshirt.
Upon reaching the trailer, the man yelled out a salutation. Still no one chimed in. Stepping inside, he continued.
While speaking with the sheriff’s detectives, what he witnessed afterward brought tears to his eyes. He hurried outdoors to seek assistance after catching a fleeting sight.
Three bodies and one critically injured person were discovered when the authorities arrived. After a few hours, the fourth victim passed away at Antelope Valley Hospital.
More than 800 pages of newly released sheriff’s files reveal that the alleged gunman was identified by many witnesses and tipsters soon after the deaths happened on the night of April 30, 2023. Charges were not brought until nearly a year later.
While Ricardo Reyes-Partida stayed in prison for a year after his arrest in May 2023 for an unrelated matter, a murder case was brought against him.
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According to the reports, Reyes-Partida is known as a “Youngster” by most witnesses, and he has a reputation for being someone you should avoid at all costs.
He was both a dealer and a user of methamphetamine, according to eyewitnesses.
His rage could be triggered at any moment. His triggers were always unpredictable.
Reyes-Partida was believed to be easily irritated, according to one source. In particular when he’s in a s—tack. Whenever he appears on the crystal.
Reyes-Partida allegedly threatened him once for ordering a neighbor’s dog to be quiet, according to detectives. Reyes-Partida convinced the man had spoken to him, approached, lifted his shirt, and showed a revolver in his belt.
Reyes-Partida has a history of being shot.
The day before the murders, he allegedly shot a man in the head because he refused to sell him drugs. Someone made it through.
The identical firearm was utilized in both shootings, as confirmed by a spent shell casing that was discovered at that location matching those found at the quadruple homicide.
What, however, may have caused the carnage within the H Street trailer?
It was allegedly about drugs or money, according to several tipsters.
However, according to the reports, the majority of witnesses, including Reyes-Partida’s co-defendant, stated that it was because of a lost smartphone that was supposedly owned by one of the victims.
According to the news accounts, the victims did not possess the phone; it had been stolen.
In addition to numerous additional accusations, 34-year-old Reyes-Partida has entered a not guilty plea to four counts of first-degree murder.
The 26-year-old Jonathan Hernandez is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder and being an accessory. His arraignment is still pending because, according to prosecutors, he is “medically unavailable” to make court appearances.
The gun allegedly used in the killings belonged to Hernandez, who is the father of a daughter by a sister of Reyes-Partida.
Four dead bodies, one phone gone
As a result of several tips, detectives interviewed dozens of people.
Darius Travon Canada, 31, Anna Marie Hester, 34, Martina Barraza, 33, and Faith Leighanne Rose Asbry, 20, from California City, were the victims they sought justice for.
The victims were said to have used drugs, according to friends and acquaintances. From Reyes-Partida, they purchased meth.
Because the reports omit Hernandez’s and Reyes-Name Partida’s, it is not known for sure who Reyes-Partida thought had his phone.
The phone, however, was identified as the cause on multiple occasions.
Two individuals discussing the murders, one of whom appeared to have the phone, were shown Facebook communications and audio messages by detectives around one week following the incident.
“And the bottom line is that this whole thing began due to that f—— phone (sic) you had that I had been instructed to return to you,” reads one of the messages. “Just in case you were unaware, it’s all because of that dreaded phone you had.”
Officers from the Bakersfield Police Department forwarded a tip to the sheriff’s office on May 10.
Ricardo P. Reyes was allegedly responsible for a quadruple homicide in Mojave, California, when he shot and killed four individuals over a stolen smartphone belonging to a girl named (redacted). Reyes also shot and killed another man multiple times in the (redacted).
Hernandez allegedly denied being there at the scene in June 2013 but claimed to have heard that the cell phone was the driving factor when questioned about it. He informed authorities that he had heard gunshots connected to the phone; the other three victims were mere coincidences.
Shortly after the gunshots, a witness saw Hernandez and Reyes-Partida exit the trailer.
“I heard shots,” he said to investigators after leaping the rear fence into the east alley of H Street, just south of Belshaw Street. According to him, about seven were shot at two-second intervals.
A male subject identified as “YG” and another as “Jonathan” were observed leaving the trailer around ten to twelve seconds later, according to the investigator who documented the incident in the reports.
YG is an alias that Reyes-Partida uses for himself.
Having known both individuals for many years, the witness testified. He went into detail about their attire that night, how a streetlight illuminated them as they fled, and how Reyes-Partida seemed to be holding a weapon in his right hand, which he reported to the police.
The witness stated that Hernandez was found to be without any possessions.
“Spooked like maybe he didn’t know that was going to happen,” he added of Hernandez.
A witness stated that no matter how Reyes-Partida was feeling, it was evident from his expressionless face.
“The child showed absolutely no signs of fear. “As if it didn’t bother him,” he stated.
Once more, the topic of the misplaced phone came up.
An eyewitness testified that Reyes-Partida had left his phone in a trailer on the premises before. Somebody lied to him, he alleged, about who owned it.
One of the people inside the trailer was confronted by Reyes-Partida, he claimed.
“I suppose the other three individuals simply became innocent bystanders,” the witness informed the investigators.
