H.B. man found dead may have been a homicide

Laguna Beach police have identified a body found Tuesday on city-owned property at 1900 Laguna Canyon Road as Richard Benny Gomez Jr., 30, of Huntington Beach.

The Orange County Coroner’s Office completed an autopsy Tuesday afternoon with the results being inconclusive, Laguna Beach police Sgt. Jason Kravetz said. A cause of death will be pending the toxicological analysis which might take 6 to 8 weeks.

The body was identified through fingerprint comparisons, Kravetz said.

City workers notified police at 5:40 a.m. Tuesday that a man was apparently sleeping behind a transformer box on the property. When officers approached the person, it was evident to the officers he was dead.

“At this time, investigators are handling the incident as a potential homicide due to the suspicious nature in which the victim was found,” Kravetz said. He did not elaborate on the condition of the victim.

“No further information will be released at this time so that investigators can determine why the victim was in Laguna Beach, and put together the events leading up to his death,” Kravetz said.

— Cindy Frazier