A 19-year-old man arrested in Long Beach Friday, in connection to a deadly shooting in the Redondo Beach area the day before, is scheduled to appear in court today.
Erik Martinez was arrested a day after allegedly shooting two people, killing one, police said.
Redondo Beach Police Department (RBPD) officers responded to the intersection of Marine and Inglewood avenues at 4:00PM on Thursday, June 16 regarding a report of two people who had been shot, Lt. Fabian Saucedo said in a news release.
Officers discovered one victim dead at the scene and the second victim with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, he said. The incident took place near a gas station.
“The second victim was transported to the hospital and is expected to survive,” said Saucedo.
Redondo Beach police reported earlier that, according to witnesses, “two subjects got into an altercation in the crosswalk […] a third subject attempted to intervene.”
During the altercation, Martinez allegedly took out a handgun and shot the two males.
Redondo Beach detectives investigating the homicide were able to identify Martinez as the suspect in the shooting, according to authorities. With that information, at about 8:00PM the next day, detectives conducting field work in connection to the investigation saw Martinez near Daisy Avenue and 10th Street in Long Beach.
“Detectives, with the assistance of the Long Beach Police Department, took Erik Martinez into custody,” Saucedo stated.
Redondo Beach officers and SWAT team members had tried to apprehend Martinez earlier Friday through a search warrant at a Lawndale location, Lt. Rick Kochheim said.
Martinez is being held at the Redondo Beach Jail on a $2 million bail, though Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) inmate records show his bail at $3 million. He was scheduled to appear at the Torrance Municipal Court Tuesday morning, the inmate record stated.
City News Service contributed to this report.