Deputies made the disturbing discovery on Thursday morning after two families who live on private property called to report a man acting erratically. They said he drove up and then approached their homes asking for gas money.
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The Tulare County Sheriff's Office identified the suspect as 32-year-old Giovani Abujalil of Bakersfield.
Deputies found Abujalil in his SUV and spotted a body in the back seat. When they told him to get out of the vehicle, they say he refused.
The deputies were eventually able to de-escalate the situation and take Abujali into custody.
They later confirmed the victim in the back seat was his father, 75-year-old Julio Abujali.
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Detectives served a search warrant at the home where the two lived together and found evidence linking the suspect to his father's death.
Officials say Abujali was just released from prison about a week ago. He was released on supervised probation for his conviction for elder abuse in 2019.
He has been booked into the Tulare County Jail on homicide charges.