Police arrest shooter 11 days after man found dead

FONTANA – A high desert man was arrested in connection to a Fontana shooting on Dec. 17 that ended in the death of a 37-year-old man, Fontana police said on Wednesday.

Joseph Wayne Bowman, 19, was arrested at about 1 p.m. Tuesday at a home in the 17400 block of Donert Street in Hesperia, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s booking reports. The arrest came 11 days after Brian Linton Thompson was found dead.

Officers were summoned to the 16900 block of San Bernardino Avenue in Fontana, said police officials, upon reports of a gunshot.

Thompson was discovered inside an apartment, according to reports. Police and paramedics had been called at 3:28 a.m.

The coroner’s report said, “A black male adult was found suffering from trauma from a single gunshot wound.” Thompson, a resident of Fontana, was pronounced dead at the scene by the coroner.

“Through investigative leads the detectives have been working on we were able to locate Bowman,” said Sgt. Pat Mackey of the Fontana Police Department.

Mackey said the case is still open and investigators were continuing to follow more leads.

Bowman was booked into West Valley Detention Center and is scheduled to be in court Thursday. A motive for the shooting has not been released.

Bowman, who has no criminal history in San Bernardino County, was booked into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga and was arraigned today. Police have not discussed any possible motives for the shooting.

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High Desert Daily Press, Hesperia man arrested for Fontana murder