Homicide detectives have arrested a third person on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of Kimberly Harvill, mother of the three children, whose body was found near Gorman last summer.
Alex Richard Valdez, a 29-year-old warehouse worker who lives in Firebaugh west of Fresno, was arrested in Fresno on an outstanding warrant shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, Det. Scott Matlock, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Homicide Bureau told The Signal Tuesday.
“He was arrested in connection with Kimberly Harvill’s death,” he said. “He is the third (murder) suspect in the case.”
Joshua Aaron Robertson, 27, and Britney Sue Humphrey, 22, also of Fresno, were arrested in October on suspicion of murdering Harvill and of then kidnapping Harvill’s three children.
The couple is scheduled to appear in San Fernando Superior Court next month.
Valdez, Robertson, Humphrey and Harvill were each involved in a shooting at a Fresno hotel that happened Aug. 12, 2016, Matlock said.
Harvill’s body was found lying in the brush by a motorist on Aug. 14 along Gorman Post Road, north of California State Route 138, in Lebec, near the Kern County line.
“Everybody was involved, including the victim and the two people previously arrested, in a shooting in Fresno,” he said, noting the shooting was not a fatal shooting.
“The shooting stemmed from a dispute in Fresno at a hotel,” he said.
Valdez was arrested shortly after Homicide detectives issued a warrant for his arrest.
US Marshals picked up Valdez in Fresno Friday and then brought him to the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station where he was booked on suspicion of murder, Matlock said.
Valdez is being held in custody at the Inmate Reception Center on Bauchet Street in Los Angeles, with bail set at $1 million.
The criminal complaint filed against Humphrey and Robertson charges them with the “willful, deliberate and premeditated Murder” of Kimberly Harvill, mother of the three children.
The complaint also alleges Robertson shot and killed Harvill and that he further broke the law being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Harvill’s children – 5-year-old daughter Rylee Watkins; 3 year-old son Brayden Watkins, and 2-year-old Joslynn Watkins – were found unharmed in New Mexico in August.
Humphrey and Robertson were arrested a short time later.
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