Alfonso Gonzalez, 36 [Updated]

Alfonso Gonzalez, a 36-year-old Latino, was found dead Wednesday, Dec. 2, in the 1700 block of Autumnmist Drive in Palmdale, authorities said.

According to coroner's records, Gonzalez's burned body was found with arms and legs bound in a closet at a residence. He was discovered by authorities after the residence was set on fire.

Though the coroner's initial report on the killing indicates that Gonzalez may have been beaten before he was burned, detectives said they were still investigating what happened to him.

[Updated at 11:51 a.m., Jan. 21: Eight days after Gonzalez was found dead, Johnathon Smith, a 27-year-old white man, was arrested in connection with his death.

According to the felony complaint in the case, Smith has been charged with one count of murder, one count of first-degree residential robbery, one count of first-degree robbery with the person present, one count of arson of an uninhabited structure or property and one count of possession of ammunition by a felon.

An official from the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Smith is currently on trial for the charges.

Smith was previously convicted of first-degree robbery with the person present and grand theft in 2004, possession of a controlled substance in 2006 and receiving stolen property in 2007, officials said.

He is being held without bail at the Men's Central Jail in downtown.]

-- Anthony Pesce and Sarah Ardalani