Jeremy M. Abshear, a 48-year-old man from North Palm Springs, was discovered in the predawn hours of May 16, 2023, after gunfire drew deputies to a property in the 64000 block of 16th Avenue—an isolated stretch of desert near North Indian Canyon Drive, not far from the windmills that mark the edge of the Coachella Valley. When deputies arrived around 5 a.m., he was on the ground with gunshot wounds.
They tried to keep him alive until paramedics reached the scene, but despite the frantic first aid, he was pronounced dead there in the open desert morning.
The case was quickly handed to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Central Homicide Unit, and investigators began tracking the people they believed were tied to what happened on 16th Avenue. Within days, the investigation turned into a widening net—one that suggested the shooting wasn’t the work of a single person acting alone, but a violent moment connected to multiple suspects who, according to later court-record reporting, would face the same core accusation: murder.
The first arrests came before the week was out. Authorities identified North Palm Springs residents Mark Brian Barneck and his son, Cody Barneck, as suspects; they were taken into custody in Desert Hot Springs in the early morning hours of May 17, 2023. Prosecutors later filed a murder case against both, and court-record reporting said the allegations included a sentencing enhancement tied to firing a gun and causing great bodily injury. For Cody Barneck, the case carried additional peril: an extra felony count alleging he was a convicted felon and narcotic addict in possession of a firearm, along with an allegation that a firearm was used in the commission of murder.
A third suspect, Aisa Kirk Bailey of Palm Desert, was arrested on May 19, 2023, and was charged alongside the Barnecks. Reporting from court proceedings said the Barnecks entered not guilty pleas and denied the allegations at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, and Bailey also pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations in a later appearance. Detention details shifted as the case moved forward in court, but later reporting described all three being held on $1 million bail.
As investigators continued to dig, the list of suspects grew. In late October 2023, authorities announced the arrest of Conner Turley, described as a Palm Desert resident; because he was a juvenile at the time of the killing, he was booked into juvenile hall rather than adult jail. Then, in March 2024, the sheriff’s department said a fifth suspect—a 17-year-old from Desert Hot Springs—was arrested in Palm Springs and also booked into juvenile hall on suspicion of murder, with his identity withheld because of his age. By December 11, 2024, court-record reporting said a trial was confirmed for three of the five suspects—Bailey and the Barnecks—scheduled for January 22 at the Larson Justice Center, while the juvenile cases were proceeding separately through the juvenile system.
