The booking photo of Rhett Nelson. Photo courtesy of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Hours after fatally shooting two men, including a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy, a 30-year-old man from Utah ended the day of violence with a pair of robberies in Long Beach, authorities said today.

The gunman, Rhett McKenzie Nelson, could face the death penalty after prosecutors today filed two counts each of murder and second-degree robbery as well as one count of attempted murder, according to an announcement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.

“A decision about whether to seek capital punishment will be made at a later date,” prosecutors said. “The defendant is being held with no bail.”

The booking photo of Rhett Nelson. Photo courtesy of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Nelson, who is from St. George, Utah, was taken into custody around 10:40 a.m. Tuesday by Long Beach police in the 2400 block of Granada Avenue and later turned over to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators, who arrested him.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s Capt. Kent Wegener told reporters Tuesday that Nelson walked into a Long Beach church around 10 a.m. that day, called his father in Utah and talked about carrying out a pair of shootings. His father called Long Beach police to report what his son had said.

A short time later, Nelson was seen driving away from the church, and police took him into custody him without incident after he pulled into the driveway of a home on Granada Avenue, Wegener said.

A massive manhunt had begun a day earlier after Deputy Joseph Gilbert Solano, 50, was at the counter of the restaurant when he was shot in the head in what sheriff’s officials believe was a random attack.

Deputy Joseph Gilbert Solano.

After shooting Solano Monday afternoon, Nelson robbed a Shell gas station and a 7-Eleven in Long Beach, the district attorney’s office said in an announcement about the charges.

Police in San Diego said Nelson is being investigated as a possible suspect in four armed robberies—and one attempted armed robbery—at convenience stores in San Diego County between Friday and Sunday. Three of the crimes were in San Diego and the others were in Lemon Grove and Carlsbad.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said Nelson is also suspected in a fatal shooting that occurred in the downtown area about an hour before Solano was shot. That shooting, apparently done from inside a vehicle, killed 31-year-old Dmitry Alekseyevich Kolstov.

Moore said Nelson’s physical description and his vehicle helped investigators link him to the shooting.

Long Beach police set up a perimeter in the area where they detained a person of interest in the shooting of an off-duty Sheriff’s deputy at a fast food restaurant in Alhambra on June 11, 2019. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.

After Villanueva announced Solano’s death Wednesday, the deputy’s grief-stricken son Matthew Solano thanked people for their prayers.

“Thank you to everyone that has had my dad in their prayers. Unfortunately, we have lost him,” he said, fighting back tears. “He was a really good dad, so I just want to thank all the law enforcement agencies that have been a part of this. Continue to pray for him and my family please. Thank you.”

Investigators are still trying to figure out a motive. Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Wednesday there’s still no indication the shooter knew that Solano—who was off-duty and not in uniform—was a sheriff’s deputy.

“The deputy was alerted in the restaurant that someone was following him, and that’s when he turned to confront (the person), and that’s when the shooting happened,” Villanueva said. “That much we do know. But the motive, the rationale from the suspect—that’s the million-dollar question.”

Nelson’s family says he suffers from mental illness and an opiate addiction.

Solano’s long-time girlfriend Juliana Loza expressed her appreciation for the support shown to the deputy’s loved ones:

“We would like to thank everyone that supported us during this senseless tragedy … every participating law enforcement agency for the outpouring of support, every doctor, nurse, paramedic, first responders, the gentleman at Jack in the Box in Alhambra who called 911 when he saw this senseless act occur.”

Authorities put out this photo as they looked for the man suspected of shooting an off-duty Sheriff’s deputy at an Alhambra fast-food restaurant. Photo courtesy of LA County Sheriffs.

Solano’s stepdaughter Jessica Jimenez said Solano had been in her life for more than 11 years and was not only a father figure but her best friend.

“All I ask is just don’t forget about him,” she said. “He was a hard-working man and was loved by many. He would want us to continue his legacy and never forget him.”

Villanueva, who was sworn in as sheriff in December, said losing a deputy was an eventuality he dreaded and it happened sooner than he expected.

Villanueva noted that Solano’s father had recently died, and the deputy was the sole provider for his mother. Solano, a 13-year sheriff’s department veteran, had dropped off his mother’s vehicle to be serviced at a Jiffy Lube near the Jack in the Box restaurant where he was shot, Villanueva said.

On Wednesday night, Solano’s flag-draped coffin was taken from the hospital to the coroner’s office, followed by a procession that included the sheriff, family members, deputies and other supporters.

The Associated Press and Breaking News Editor Jeremiah Dobruck contributed to this report.