17 years after two people were killed in California in 1995, 40-year-old Christian Leonard Bunty was arrested Tuesday near Sandpoint for the killings.
Barstow detectives have suspected him all this time. While they don't think he acted alone, Barstow police do think Bunty was involved in a rip-off drug deal and two murders.
Detectives say the victims, Mark Adamson and Joseph Riley, thought they were going to buy an ingredient for meth; instead they were shot and killed.
video In 1995, Bunty ended up in trouble for breaking another law. He and two other men were impersonating FBI agents, carrying out bogus raids to rob drug houses. He struck a plea, got credit for time served and during probation moved to Idaho.
In the meantime, the disappearance of Adamson and Riley went unsolved. Detectives never recovered the victims' bodies but put together what happened.
"Our investigation has shown that Bunty and Franklin lured Adamson and Riley to a location in the desert where they were shot and killed and buried in what was a pre-dug hole," Barstow Police Detective Keith Libby said.