A man suspected of fatally shooting his neighbor in Duarte following an argument at a house party was in custody Saturday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.
The neighbor was Gabriel Alejandro De La Torre, 35, according to Lt. Dave Smith of the coroner's office. The suspect was still being interviewed at midday Saturday, and was not publicly identified at midday by sheriff's deputies. Homicide detectives were dispatched to a report of a fatal shooting at 7:55 p.m. Friday in the 2100 block of Broach Avenue, Deputy Crystal Hernandez of the Sheriff's Information Bureau said.
Deputies from the sheriff's Temple Station initially had been sent there on a reported assault with a deadly weapon and reported that the suspect had left in a white Toyota truck.
Witnesses told investigators that De La Torre and the suspect lived on the same lot in two separate residences.
Both he and the suspect attended a party at the rear residence of the lot where they began to argue, Hernandez said. Witnesses told deputies the suspect then went home to retrieve a handgun and fired multiple rounds at De La Torre before leaving the party.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, Hernandez said.
A representative from the coroner's office was dispatched to the scene a little after 6:45 a.m., according to Smith.
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Deputies located the suspect's vehicle and a brief pursuit was initiated on the eastbound Foothill (210) Freeway, Hernandez said. The suspect eventually pulled over at the Azusa off-ramp where he was taken into custody.
A weapon was recovered inside the suspect's vehicle, Hernandez said.
The suspect was taken to the Temple Sheriff's Station and was being interviewed by investigators, according to Hernandez.
