On the evening of December 28, 2016, Robert Ruiz, a 22-year-old resident of Upland, California, was found shot to death inside a parked car in Fontana. The incident occurred around 8:40 p.m. in the 7200 block of North Heritage Circle, near a local park. Alongside Ruiz, another 22-year-old man, Victor Hernandez from Pomona, was also discovered dead in the vehicle.
The Fontana Police Department responded to reports of gunshots in the area and upon arrival, found the two men deceased inside the car. The tragic event left Ruiz's family devastated, with his mother expressing profound grief and confusion over the loss of her son, whom she described as a "good boy".
The investigation into the double homicide quickly led to the identification and arrest of a suspect. On December 29, 2016, Fontana police arrested 21-year-old Roberto Colon, a resident of Fontana, in connection with the murders. Colon was taken into custody without incident and booked into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of murder. He was held without bail, and his first court appearance was scheduled for the following Tuesday. The authorities did not immediately provide a motive for the shooting.
As the case progressed, the community and the families of the victims sought justice for the senseless killings. The arrest of Colon marked a significant step in the investigation, but the pain and loss experienced by the families of Ruiz and Hernandez remained palpable. Ruiz's family, who had already endured the loss of their father to cancer, planned to lay him to rest beside his father, finding a small measure of solace in their reunion.
