LOS ANGELES — The man who was named “a person of interest” after remains of three people were discovered this month at a house in a high-desert community is also wanted for questioning about the earlier killing of two men nearby, authorities said Wednesday.

Jesus “Chuy” Guzman, 34, is known to carry weapons and should be considered armed and dangerous, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

In the earlier case, the bodies of Gerardo “Jerry” De Luna and Mariano Campos were found Feb. 20 at Campos’ home in Littlerock, the statement said. Detectives said a relative who had come to visit found the men fatally shot in an outbuilding.

That home is three miles from where the remains of three people were discovered on Oct. 11, on a property where Guzman had formerly lived, the sheriff’s department said. The house on the lot was burned, as was a vehicle.

Additional human remains were located Oct. 23 at a different site; it was unclear if those remains were from victims other than the initial three.

The identities of the three and the circumstances of their death have not been released, and the coroner’s office reports the case is on a security hold, meaning detectives have requested that no information be shared.

The sheriff’s department did not say whether the grisly find was thought to be related to the January disappearance of two men and a woman who had also lived in Littlerock. Jose Lara, 65; Cuauhtemoc Lara, 39; and Julieta Arvizu, 49, are believed dead after they vanished and left behind what seemed to be all their possessions, according to authorities.

The elder Lara’s vehicle was found abandoned on Feb. 5 in Littlerock. The cellphones of the three people were turned off and had not been used since the date they vanished.

A $20,000 reward has been offered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for information in the Lara/Arvizu case.

Littlerock is a community of about 1,200 people on the edge of the Mojave Desert, eight miles southeast of Palmdale.

Guzman is Hispanic, 5-foot-5, about 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He owns a black 2009 Toyota Corolla, California license plate 6SCD663.

Anyone with any information about the case is asked to call Detective Louie Augilera or Detective Marc Boisvert at (323) 890-5500. Tipsters can also call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477).