A 23-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the killing of a 1-year-old girl in Compton, who was hit by an errant bullet in her crib last week, authorities said.
Ray Howard Patterson was arrested Monday in connection with the Feb. 9 killing of Autumn Johnson, online booking records show. He was being held without bail and had a court date set for Wednesday.
Investigators are not saying how they connected him to the crime. But they do believe Patterson is the person who got out of a car and opened fire on a converted garage where a family was living.
The baby was shot while she was in her crib. Authorities say they are stilling looking for the driver of a blue Chevrolet Impala. The baby's father has admited he was once a gang member and may have been the target of the shooting.
The news of the arrest came as officials announced a $75,000 reward for information leading to a suspect.
"She was one of our last to be born and one of our first to go," said Kenyia Hicks, Autumn's great aunt.
Autumn was asleep in her crib in the house's converted garage when a man shot at the garage door.
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Her mother was preparing her food, and her father was next door when she was shot. The gunman was able to get away with the help of an accomplice who was driving a blue four-door Chevrolet Impala, authorities said.
