Joel Arturo Gonzalez, 39

Joel Arturo Gonzalez, a 39-year-old Latino, died Monday, May 21, after he was shot on Cordova Street in Pomona, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records and Pomona Police.

Gonzalez was driving to a store near his home shortly before 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 20, when someone began shooting at his vehicle outside Montvue Park, Pomona Police Sgt. Bert Sanchez said.

A Little League game had just ended at the park, Sanchez said, and people were milling about. Surveillance cameras and witness accounts indicate the gunfire came from people who had gotten out of a dark, mid-sized, four-door vehicle that was stopped next to the park, Sanchez said.

Gonzalez was struck by the gunfire and drove about a block before his SUV struck some parked cars, Sanchez said. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead the following day at 10:26 a.m., according to coroner’s records.

Five days later, investigators arrested Timothy Lee Campbell, 27, on suspicion of murder during a traffic stop in Highland. Cory Johnson, 39, was arrested early the next morning at a hotel in Ontario on suspicion of being an accessory to murder, Sanchez said.

The detectives also served warrants in Ontario, Fontana and Highland to search places where the suspects were believed “to reside or frequent,” and confiscated four semi-automatic handguns, high-power magazines and ammunition, Sanchez said. The guns are being tested to determine whether any were used in the shooting.  

Campbell was charged with murder and shooting at an occupied vehicle on May 30. Johnson was charged the same day with being an accessory to murder, according to court records. Investigators think he drove the car that allowed the shooter to get away.

Both men are scheduled to be arraigned June 20. 

Sanchez said investigators think both men had ties to gangs to Pomona.

Gonzalez was not involved in gangs, Sanchez said, and investigators think the shooting may have been a case of mistaken identity.

“This is a good example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Sanchez said. “By all reports, Mr. Gonzalez was a hardworking man, a machinist. He was a very good person from all accounts.”

Pomona investigators were aided by the Montebello Police Major Narcotics Unit, the California Highway Patrol, Fontana Police SWAT and the San Bernardino Police in the searches, according to a Pomona news release. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Pomona Police at (909) 620-2085. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.