Girl abandoned at Mojave Desert gas station after father beat mother to death, authorities say

A man is in custody after authorities say he beat a woman to death before abandoning their daughter at a gas station in a remote area of San Bernardino County last week.

Deputies were called around 11:45 p.m. Friday to a Shell gas station on Cima Road — east of Barstow in the Mojave Desert near the Nevada border — after a 12-year-old girl walked into the station and asked for help, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

The girl told authorities that her father, 37-year-old Upland resident Jesus Jaimes-Rosas, had beaten her mother and left her on the side of the road, deputies said Tuesday.

Investigators determined that Jaimes-Rosas dropped the girl off at the gas station before fleeing.

Around 1:20 a.m. Saturday, deputies found the man’s vehicle abandoned on a dirt road.

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“He said, ‘You’re not calling no one. You’re alone. You’re lost,’” the victim recalled from the witness stand Tuesday through a court-appointed Spanish interpreter.

Nov. 29, 2022

A Sheriff’s Department dog found “Jaimes-Rosas with self-inflicted injuries,” deputies said. What kind of injuries they were or what specifically caused them wasn’t disclosed.

He was taken to a hospital and later released, deputies said.

Investigators found 31-year-old Sonia Flores, the girl’s mother, dead at 11:43 a.m., deputies said. Authorities did not say where the mother’s body was found.

Jaimes-Rosas was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder, authorities said. He is being held at High Desert Detention Center without bail.

Further information about the case wasn’t disclosed.

Anyone with information is asked to call the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Detail at (909) 890-4908. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the We Tip hotline 1-800-782-7463 or www.wetip.com.