Santa Monica police have arrested a 26-year-old Adelanto man in connection with a fatal shooting in March near Fourth Street and Olympic Drive, after he was tracked down in Mexico and extradited to the United States.
Manuel Reyes is charged with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. He remains in custody with bail set at $3 million.
The arrest stems from a fatal shooting late Saturday, March 28, near Fourth Street and Olympic Drive, about a block from City Hall and adjacent to Santa Monica Police Department headquarters, in what investigators said appeared to be a road rage confrontation between occupants of two vehicles.
Officers responded about 10:30 p.m. and found an adult man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
According to police, the shooting followed an altercation during which a suspect produced a firearm and fired at least one round, striking the victim. The suspect fled before officers arrived.
The intersection, near the onramp to Interstate 10, was closed from about 11:15 p.m. until about 4:30 a.m. Sunday.
After what the department described as an extensive investigation, detectives identified Reyes as the suspect.
Reyes was arrested Oct. 20 in the Mexican state of Nayarit in a coordinated effort involving Santa Monica police, the U.S. Marshals Service's Mexico Foreign Field Office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, police said. He was extradited to the United States and booked into the Santa Monica Police Department Jail on Thursday.
Reyes was arraigned Monday at the Airport Courthouse.
"The Santa Monica Police Department thanks our law enforcement partners for their assistance in locating and apprehending Reyes," the department said in a statement.
Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to contact Detective Lawrence Kayondo of the department's Criminal Investigations Division at 310-458-8931, or the watch commander, available 24 hours a day, at 310-458-8427.