Photo: Sgt. Daron Wyatt with photos from the case (Steven Georges/Behind the Badge)
The Anaheim Police Department issued the following statement in regards to the arrest of a man suspected of killing an Army veteran.
“Anaheim Police investigators have arrested a suspect in connection to the murder of a 34-year old U.S. Army veteran whose body was discovered in the trunk of an abandoned car in Anaheim more than a month ago.
On Nov. 18, Anaheim Police detectives, along with SWAT teams from multiple agencies, served a search warrant on a property in the 2500 block of Bristol Street in Santa Ana, where they arrested Antonio Silva, 27, of Santa Ana, on suspicion of killing Adrian Bonar, 34, of Escondido.
Police also discovered and rescued an adult male who was being held hostage at the location, and found two handguns, two rifles, and two kilograms of fentanyl.
Anaheim Police Chief Jorge Cisneros, center, talks about the arrest of a suspect in the death of Army Veteran Adrian Bonar during a news conference Wednesday evening. Behind him is Sgt. Daron Wyatt, left, and Deputy Chief Rick Armendariz.
Silva was booked on suspicion of homicide, kidnap for ransom, and possession of narcotics and multiple firearms.
“Our homicide detectives and virtually every investigative unit in the Anaheim Police Department have been working tirelessly for the past four weeks on this case,” said APD Public Information Officer Sgt. Daron Wyatt. “(It was) outstanding work from our investigators. They worked it from the ground up.”
On Oct. 17, CHP officers discovered Bonar’s body wrapped in a tarp in the trunk of an abandoned Lexus on the north side of Santa Ana Canyon Road, west of Gypsum Canyon Road.
News reporters and camera operators from various TV stations gather in the Anaheim Police Department auditorium for the announcement of the arrest of a suspect in the murder of Army Veteran Adrian Bonar.
Citing the ongoing investigation, police are not discussing the relationship between Silva, Bonar and the kidnap victim, nor are they releasing the manner of death or motive for the killing.
“Regardless of what Adrian may have been involved in, he was a victim of this crime,” Wyatt said. “He was an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Army who saw combat in Iraq, and nobody deserves to die in this fashion or be a victim of a murder no matter what they’ve done.”
The Anaheim Police Department’s homicide team consists of eight full-time detectives who worked on the case every day for the past four weeks, said Sgt. Shane Carringer, the APD’s new public information officer. Wyatt is retiring in late December.
Detectives from other units within the department also assisted in the investigation, Carringer said.
“This was a large operation that took a lot of police personnel,” the sergeant said. “I’d say we were in the thousands of man hours, easily.”
Silva was not compliant with police during the arrest and had to be subdued with a 40 mm sponge round, Carringer said.
The arrest was the result of “precise and prompt intel, strategic deployment of resources, and productive investigative tactics,” Anaheim Police Chief Jorge Cisneros said. “Being the chief of this organization, I’m extremely proud of the work that they do.”
