Disposition hearings took place this week for a San Bernardino man accused of murdering his Twentynine Palms girlfriend. Josh Simon, 37, appeared in court for the early disposition hearing on Wednesday (June 16). The hearings are an attempt to settle cases before having to go through a formal trial. Simon is accused of murdering his girlfriend, Beatriz Guzman, 35, of Twentynine Palms, in March of 2020. On the fatal day, Sheriff deputies were called about a man with a gun near Morongo Road in the Desert Heights neighborhood of Twentynine Palms. Witnesses said the man was in the road and was pointing a handgun at them as they drove by. When deputies arrived, Simon went inside a home in the 1200 block of Morongo Road and refused to come out. At the same time, deputies received another call about a woman who was down in the road next to a vehicle on Pole Line Road, west of Morongo Road. First responders found Beatriz Guzman, 35, of Twentynine Palms, with gunshot wounds and she was pronounced deceased at the scene. Simon and Guzman had been in a dating relationship, and for reasons that are still unknown, deputies say Simon shot Guzman. Simon has been charged with murder and remains at the West Valley Detention Center without bail. Josh Simon is scheduled to reappear in court for a preliminary hearing on August 12, 2021.
