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2 Charged in Death of Missoula Transient

By Beacon Staff

MISSOULA — Two men have been charged in the beating death of a homeless man in Missoula.

Eugene J. Gonzales, 47, was arrested Thursday and is being held on $500,000 bail. He is charged with deliberate homicide for the April 12 beating death of 46-year-old Johnny Joe Belmarez.

Meanwhile, an arrest warrant has been issued for 40-year-old Raymond “Garfield” Big Beaver, who also faces a charge of deliberate homicide.

Belmarez’s body was found in a downtown Missoula alley April 12, and a medical examiner determined the man died from blunt force trauma that resulted in a skull fracture. Both suspects and the victim are well known in Missoula’s transient community.

According to court records, witnesses told police they encountered Gonzalez after the attack and said he bragged about killing Belmarez. Other witnesses say they saw the beating and that Big Beaver was also involved.

The records state that one witness told police she watched the men hit Belmarez in the head, and another witness said Big Beaver and Gonzalez approached him after the attack and said they had done something bad.

“They said, ‘We finally got him and we beat him up and don’t think he was breathing,'” the witness said, according to court records. The men allegedly asked the witness to hide them and said they needed to get off the street.