A 33-year-old Highland man died shortly after arriving at a hospital following a stabbing inside a detached secondary home on Elm Street this week, and two men now sit in custody facing murder charges in his death. Samuel Canales was found stabbed at the residence on Monday morning. By Tuesday, detectives had identified and captured both suspects, one in Highland and one in neighboring San Bernardino.
According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, Highland deputies were dispatched to the 7600 block of Elm Street at about 10:37 a.m. Monday after a stabbing was reported there. Canales was found stabbed inside a detached secondary home on the property — a structure California zoning law classifies as an accessory dwelling unit, a self-contained secondary residence built on the same lot as a primary house, according to City of Placerville planning guidance. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died shortly after arrival.
County Deputies Hand the Case to Homicide Detectives
Highland contracts its police services through the sheriff's department rather than maintaining its own municipal force, which is why county deputies — not city police — responded to the Elm Street call. Because the case involved a killing, patrol deputies handed the investigation to the department's Specialized Investigations Division Homicide Detail, a unit made up of five sergeants, 22 detectives and two specialized investigators who handle every murder and unexplained death case in the cities that contract with the sheriff's office.
Detectives went on to identify Brian Anthony Huidor, 27, of San Bernardino, and Angel Santiago Macias, 23, of Highland, as suspects in Canales's killing. The investigation is being tracked internally under case number DR# 132602701 and homicide number H# 2026-077. Sheriff-Coroner Shannon D. Dicus oversees the department leading the probe.
Tactical Unit Tracks Down One Suspect in San Bernardino
On Tuesday, the sheriff's Specialized Enforcement Division — the department's full-time SWAT and high-risk tactical unit, cross-sworn with federal marshals to hunt down violent felons — located and arrested Huidor at a residence in San Bernardino. Macias was arrested separately in Highland. Both arrests came less than 24 hours after deputies were first called to Elm Street.
Both men were booked into the Central Detention Center on East Rialto Avenue in San Bernardino — the primary booking facility for the county's East Valley region — on suspicion of murder under Penal Code Section 187. Both remain in custody. The facility processes more than 20,000 bookings a year, per the sheriff's department.
What California's Murder Statute Means for Both Suspects
Under California Penal Code Section 187, a first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory 25 years to life in state prison, while second-degree murder carries 15 years to life, with additional enhancements possible for deadly-weapon use or multiple-defendant involvement, according to defense firm Wallin & Klarich.
The fact that both Huidor and Macias face identical murder charges for a single stabbing reflects a broader legal principle: prosecutors can charge an accomplice with murder alongside the person who inflicted the fatal wound if evidence shows that accomplice aided and abetted the crime with malice aforethought, per Eisner Gorin LLP. Under the state's SB 1437 reforms, that requires proof of direct intent or active participation in the killing. It remains unclear what motive investigators believe drove the attack, what role each man is alleged to have played, or whether a weapon has been recovered — details the sheriff's department has not released.
Court Proceedings Loom as Detectives Seek Public's Help
Murder charges stemming from Highland arrests are evaluated by the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office, with initial court proceedings expected at the Criminal Division of the San Bernardino Superior Court on West Third Street. As of this report, it remained unclear whether formal charges had been filed or when Huidor and Macias would be arraigned.
The Homicide Detail, referred by Detective Javier Lopez and Sergeant Bryan Sprague, is asking anyone with information about the case to call 909-890-4904, or the sheriff's non-emergency line at 909-387-3700. Tipsters who prefer to stay anonymous can call or text We-Tip at 844-909-3006, a 24/7 hotline that doesn't record caller information and offers rewards of up to $1,000, or submit a tip online through the sheriff's department's website.
The case's H# 2026-077 designation suggests it is roughly the 77th homicide investigation the department's detectives have opened countywide so far this year, per Victor Valley News. The Elm Street case adds to a difficult stretch for Highland, which also mourned a toddler's fatal shooting last month after the child found a gun in a couch.
