Two men arrested for the murder of a man found buried along the Pajaro River levee.

Two men were arrested in recent days for the murder of a man whose body was found buried along the Pajaro River levee in April.

Bernardino Rickie Sanchez, 61, of Pajaro and Jorge Javier Sanchez Torres, 51, of Watsonville are suspected of murdering 36-year-old Jesús Alfonso Duarte Figueroa of Watsonville.

According to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, detectives received information on April 10 about a body that had been buried along the levee. Figueroa, who had been reported missing out of Santa Cruz County in March, was later identified, and investigators determined his death was a homicide.

The investigation, which included interviews with unhoused people living along the levee, led detectives to Sanchez as the murder suspect, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Sanchez was already in Monterey County Jail for a drug and weapons violation, and he was additionally charged on July 11 with murder and unlawful disposal of human remains.

Commander Andres Rosas says at the time of arrest, it was unknown if there were other suspects involved. But detectives following up on leads reportedly discovered Sanchez Torres as another suspect, and he was arrested on July 14 in Watsonville on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

The motive remains unknown, and the investigation is ongoing.

In a statement, Sheriff Tina Nieto thanked the Watsonville Police Department and the public for the tips that led to the arrests.

“Today’s arrest shows our detectives’ commitment to finding those responsible for committing serious crimes in Monterey County,” she said. “Our thoughts are with the family of Jesús Alfonso Duarte Figueroa’s family.”

Anyone with information is asked to call contact Monterey County Sheriff’s Detective Richard Geng at 253-6029 or Detective Sgt. James Day at 597-0065.