A Santa Maria man sought in connection with a fatal shooting in May has been taken into custody in Las Vegas, according to the Santa Maria Police Department.
Shortly after 2 a.m May 16, police officers, Santa Maria firefighters and an AMR ambulance were dispatched to the shooting scene near North Lincoln and West Mill streets, a block west of North Broadway.
They discovered a man in the middle of the street who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
The victim, Mario Angel Merino Gonzalez, 19, of Guadalupe, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The initial investigation revealed that Gonzalez had been in a verbal altercation with a group of people when someone pulled a gun and shot him.
On Wednesday, police detectives tracked Alfredo Alaniz Jr., 21, of Santa Maria to a residence in Las Vegas, Sgt. Andy Magallon said.
“With the assistance of the local authorities in Las Vegas, Alaniz was taken into custody without incident,” Magallon said.
A subsequent search warrant was served as detectives continue investigating the killing.
Alaniz was booked into a Nevada jail on suspicion of murder pending extradition back to California.
He remained in custody in Clark County on Thursday and reportedly has a court hearing July 6 in Las Vegas, according to Nevada government websites.
Santa Maria detectives have asked that anyone with information about the killing call the Police Department at 805.928.3781, ext. 2277, or the department’s tip line at 805.928.3781, ext. 2766.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.