A 43-year-old man suspected in a Long Beach fatal shooting in late February was behind bars today.
Carlos Salazar Jr., formerly of Compton, was arrested Tuesday during a traffic stop in Irvine, according to the Long Beach Police Department. He was booked on suspicion of murder at the Orange County Jail, where he was being held without bail pending extradition to Los Angeles County.
Salazar is suspected in the Feb. 22 killing of Miguel Rodriguez, 41, of Walnut Park.
According to Long Beach police, officers responded at 4:22 p.m. that day to the 6900 block of Paramount Boulevard on reports of shots fired, and a man was found lying in a parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body.
Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said Rodriguez was approached by the suspect in the parking lot of AJ’s Wholesale Distributors, who fired multiple shots at him then fled the scene.
Detectives believe the shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute between Salazar and Rodriguez, police said, but no details about the nature of that dispute were released.
Anyone with information regarding the fatal shooting was urged to contact LBPD homicide detectives Sean Magee, Juan Carlos Reyes or Lisette Temblador at 562-570-7244. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.