Local investigators are asking the public for any information they might have about a recent homicide in Monterey Park.

At about 4:45 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 5, Valencia County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call about an injured man in the road near the intersection of Monterey Boulevard and Bonita Vista Road.

Deputies and medical personnel arrived to find Joaquin Fernandez, 30, on the shoulder of the road, unconscious and unresponsive.

“Medical units were not able to provide lifesaving measures,” said Sgt. Joseph Rowland, VCSO spokesman. “OMI removed the body for autopsy. The case is considered violent in nature and is being actively investigated as a homicide.”

Rowland said Fernandez lived close by and had a bicycle with him, but it is unclear if he was riding it at the time he was killed.

“I can’t give the manner of death at this time. The sheriff’s criminal investigation division is playing this close to the chest,” he said. “So far, the indications are that where he was found was the crime scene.”

Rowland is asking anyone with information about the crime to contact VCSO Det. David Zilink at 866-2400.

So far this year, there have been 10 homicide cases in unincorporated Valencia County, Rowland said. To date, VCSO has made arrests in eight of the cases.

The other open case from this year is the homicide of Mary Kay Brizzee, 54, of Albuquerque, whose body was found on AT&T Road west of Los Lunas in July.

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Julia M. Dendinger began working at the VCNB in 2006. She covers Valencia County government, Belen Consolidated Schools and the village of Bosque Farms. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists Rio Grande chapter’s board of directors.