Gilbert Gonzalez of Wonder Valley and his two sons, Gilbert, Jr. and Joseph, have burnished their freebooting reputation as modern day desperados even further.
Their exploits include a 2015 running gun battle in which both Gilbert Gonzalez Sr. and Gilbert Gonzalez Jr. managed to get shot up, but survived. In 2019, Gilbert Jr., 31, again garnered attention when, pursued by law enforcement officers who suspected him of vehicle theft, he plowed over or took out several gravesites in Joshua Tree Memorial Park, and then led the gendarmes on a high speed pursuit into Twentynine Palms.
This week, on Wednesday, Gilbert Gonzalez Sr., 52,  and Joseph Gonzalez, 29, were arrested after deputies with the Morongo Basin Station came to the Gonzalez residence in the 83400 block of Amboy Road to serve a warrant on Joseph Gonzalez, stemming from an incident involving a felony assault he is alleged to have engaged in on the evening of February 15 in Twentynine Palms.
When the deputies contacted Joseph in the front yard of the home and moved to take him into custody in conjunction with the warrant, he was found to be in the possession of methamphetamine. His arrest was fully effectuated and he was transported to Rancho Cucamonga and booked at the West Valley Detention Center.
During their interaction with Joseph, according to the department, deputies “developed additional information,” which was then utilized to inform a search warrant for his father’s residence. Upon serving the search warrant, according to the department, two ounces of methamphetamine were located inside the home owned by Gilbert Gonzalez, Sr. He was arrested, and like his son, transported to and booked into the West Valley Detention Center. His charging sheet said he was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sales. His bail is $50,000. His son’s bail was set at $100,000.
-Mark Gutglueck