CA - Juan Carlos Perez, 34, Shot to death Mar 2015, New Remains in Rosamond Apr'18

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — The Kern County Sheriff's Office on Thursday said remains found this week at an abandoned property in Rosamond are likely related to the 2015 murder of Juan Carlos Perez.

Deputies went to the property on Joshua Lane after getting information that Michelle Chafin, a woman missing since 2007, might have been killed and buried there.
Human remains were found at the property, but the Sheriff’s Office determined they were not those of Chafin.

Perez, 34, of Sylmar, was shot the death, and his body was found in 2015 "in a fairly advanced state of decomposition” in the back of a pickup after a high-speed chase.

The Sheriff's Office didn't explicitly say that part of Perez's remains were found on the property, and a call to the Sheriff's Office public-information officer went unanswered.

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Investigators did not find evidence the remains were Chafin's, determining the bones belonged to Juan Carlos Perez, 34, who was found dead – and missing body parts – in the back of a truck in Tehachapi Feb. 9, 2015.

William Patterson, 34, had led deputies on a chase and abandoned the truck in the area of Tehachapi Willos Springs Road and Oak Creek Road. Patterson was caught and later convicted on charges of reckless evasion of a peace officer and possession of a firearm, but was not charged in Perez's death.

Patterson is currently serving a 4-year sentence at Wasco State Prison, according to a Superior Court of Kern County online database.
KCSO has not said if any further charges will be brought against Patterson in light of new evidence.

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