Long Beach
Police Department

Update 9/18/21 at 11:00 a.m.:

To view the news conference about this incident, please click the link here.

On Sept. 16, 2021, U.S. Marshals Southern District of Iowa Fugitive Task Force and Long Beach Police Department Homicide Detectives coordinated the arrest of Joshua Wells, a 29-year-old resident of Long Beach.

Wells was arrested near a family member’s residence in Windsor Heights, Iowa, and was booked for the Sept. 4, 2021 murders of Maricela Honorato and Juan Guizar-Gutierrez.

On Sept. 14, 2021, detectives presented their case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, resulting in an arrest warrant for two counts of murder. Detectives gathered evidence revealing that Wells was responsible for the shooting death of the victims.

On Sept. 16, 2021, two search warrants were served, one in the 900 block of Loma Vista Drive and one in 8100 block of Harbach Boulevard in Clive, Iowa. Both search warrant services resulted in the discovery of evidence which linked the suspect to the crimes.

Detectives believe the motive for the shooting was related to an earlier altercation that occurred in the area and do not believe the victims were known to Wells prior to Sept. 4, 2021. While there is no evidence that this crime stemmed from a potential road rage incident, detectives will not rule out the possibility.

With the assistance of the U.S. Marshalls, Wells will be extradited from Windsor Heights, Iowa to Long Beach, California. He is currently being held on $6,065,000 bail.

The Long Beach Police Department would like to thank our partners, the U.S. Marshals, for their assistance in apprehending Wells.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact Homicide Detectives Ethan Shear, Jose Rodriguez, or Michael Hutchinson at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips may be submitted through "LA Crime Stoppers" by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477), downloading the "P3 Tips" app to your smartphone (available at the Apple app store or Google Play), or by visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.

Original News Release 9/4/21 at 11:30 a.m.:

The Long Beach Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect(s) responsible for the shooting deaths of a man and a woman.

On Sept. 4, 2021, at approximately 7:50 p.m., officers were dispatched to a fight call in the 900 block of Park Circle.

Upon arrival, officers located a male victim on the sidewalk suffering from apparent gunshot wounds to the upper body, and a female victim in the street suffering from a gunshot wound to her upper body.
Officers immediately began performing life-saving measures on both victims until Long Beach Fire Department personnel arrived on scene to render aid. Fire Department personnel determined the male victim deceased at the scene and transported the female victim to a local hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.

The victims are a couple who reside in the City of Long Beach. They have been identified as 39-year-old Juan Guizar-Gutierrez and 44-year-old Maricela Honorato.

At this time in the investigation, the shooting is believed to have occurred outside and it is unknown if the shooting in connected to the original fight call. The circumstances leading up to the shooting, motive, and suspect information are not known at this time. The incident remains under investigation by Homicide Detectives.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact Homicide Detectives Ethan Shear, Jose Rodriguez, or Michael Hutchinson at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips may be submitted through "LA Crime Stoppers" by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477), downloading the "P3 Tips" app to your smartphone (available at the Apple app store or Google Play), or by visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.