In a grim development out of Hesperia, a man was discovered dead following a trailer fire, in what law enforcement has determined to be a homicide, with a suspect now behind bars, officials said. The body of 25-year-old Justin Wilkinson was found on Monday evening after firefighters doused the flames that engulfed a trailer on the 7800 block of C Avenue.

Authorities were alerted to the blaze around 9:37 p.m., April 15, and after extinguishing the fire, first responders stumbled upon a scene that hinted at fouler play—Wilkinson's injuries were inconsistent with fire-related trauma, sparking a deeper probe by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Arson/Bomb Detail followed by an investigation spearheaded by the Homicide Detail. Angel Cardenas, a 23-year-old resident of Victorville, was interviewed by detectives and, as the layers of the incident unfurled, was pegged as the suspect in this fatal encounter, was according to the official statement released via Nixle.

Cardenas was arrested and booked into the High Desert Detention Center, where he is currently held without bail. Details on what led to Wilkinson's death are still unfolding, but the severity of the incident compelled the investigators to take rapid action in detaining Cardenas.

As the Sheriff-Coroner Department urges the public to step forward with any relevant information, calls can be directed to the Homicide Detail or anonymous tips may be made through We-Tip; these efforts underscore an ongoing quest for clarity and justice in a case that has jarred the local community, the details of which were disseminated in the sheriff-coroner's release. Anyone with knowledge about the crime is encouraged to help piece together the narrative of that fatal night and bring resolution to an unsettling episode that has rattled the quiet of Hesperia.