Full Notification

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public’s assistance in locating a suspect wanted for murder. On August 16th, 2014 at about 11:53 pm deputies responded to the 100 block of West 2nd St. in Buttonwillow for a victim of a shooting. Deputies located 18 year old Jonathan Cota Romero suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Romero was airlifted to Kern Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

During the course of the investigation detectives were able to identify Jose Cortes as a suspect in the case and developed probable cause to arrest him for Romero’s murder.

Cortes is described as:
Name: Jose Trinidad Partida-Cortes
DOB: 09/09/1986
Race: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Height: 5'05"
Weight: 170
Hair: Black
Eyes Brown

If anyone has information on Cortes’s whereabouts they are asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 661-861-3110 or Secret Witness at 661-322-4040. Anonymous text tips can be sent to TIP411 (847411). Just type the keyword “KCSO” prior to the message.