The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has arrested two of the victim’s contemporaries in the shooting death of 19-year-old Keneth Xiong, which occurred either late on Frirday May 30 or early Saturday, May 31 in Yucaipa.
Xiong, who had been shot multiple times, was found by sheriff’s deputies on Saturday at the Oak Glen Wash near Avenue D at approximately 6:40 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Xiong resided in Fresno. The reason he ended up dead in Yucaipa, 242 miles as the crow flies or 288 miles by car from his home, and what he was doing in San Bernardino County and with whom he was in contact, was a story to be pieced together by investigators. That narrative and what investigators believe was the motive in the case have not yet been publicly disclosed. On Sunday, June 1, 21-year-old Dennis Wright, of Yucaipa, was arrested on suspicion of murder. Wright thereafter was subjected to the third degree by homicide investigators. Handcuffed and subjected to relentless and ruthless interrogation by detectives who grilled him like steak on an open flame barbecue, Wright ultimately implicated Kyle Heller, 20, also of Yuciapa in Xiong’s murder.
After seeking to verify several of the particulars in Wright’s statements, on Wednesday, June 4, sheriff’s department investigators, accompanied by at least three deputies, arrested Heller.
Based on the behavior of the homicide detectives of the sheriff’s department’s specialized detectives bureau assigned to the Xiong case, it appears that Wright and Heller are the only suspects in the case, as no further investigative action in the matter is being pursued. Investigators have not specified a motive for the shooting.