Suspect in LA Baby Shooting Caught Sneaking Into U.S., Authorities Say
Updated 2:48 PM PST, Tue, Nov 18, 2008
LOS ANGELES -- A Mexican charged in the shooting death of a 3-week-old baby near MacArthur Park in 2007 was in custody Tuesday after being caught sneaking into the United States, law enforcement authorities said.
Guadalupe Torres-Rangel, 41, was taken into custody with four other border crossers near the San Diego County community of Dulzura about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Torres-Rangel was among several people charged with murder in the Sept. 15, 2007, shooting that left Luis Angel Garcia dead and Francisco Clemente, in his 30s, wounded.
"He was part of the same group collecting what they call rent or taxes from street vendors," said Los Angeles police Detective David Holmes of the Robbery-Homicide Division.
Clemente was holding the baby when both were shot.
Holmes said he was arranging to bring Torres-Rangel to Los Angeles.
Torres-Rangel, also known as "Barrios," was turned over to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, pending his extradition to Los Angeles.
Seven other people were arrested earlier in the killing, including the alleged triggerman: Giovanni Macedo, who was 18 when he was arrested in January.
Juvenal Cardenas Mejia, also known as "Atlas," remains at large.
The shooting occurred as the infant's mother pushed his stroller near Sixth Street and Burlington Avenue. Clemente, a street vendor, was wounded and survived the attack.
The criminal complaint alleges that Macedo "took out a gun and started shooting in the area of Sixth and Burlington, near MacArthur Park," killing the baby and critically wounding Clemente.
The complaint also alleges that Rangel and Mejia extorted street vendors near MacArthur Park.
First Published: Nov 18, 2008 2:43 PM PST
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