California authorities have arrested the illegal immigrant suspected of killing a cop on Christmas day, local authorities say.
Suspect Gustavo Perez Arriaga, 32, was arrested in Bakersfield on Friday morning for killing Newman Police Department Corporal Ronil Singh, 33, on the morning of December 25, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department.
Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said Arriaga is a Mexican national who illegally entered the U.S. and was a part of the notoriously violent Sureños gang.
He was trying to flee back to Mexico when he was arrested.
Arriaga had been living in the U.S. for several years and worked various farm labor jobs. He also had a track record of two previous DUI’s.
Cops also arrested Arriaga’s brother Adrian Virgen, 25, and co-worker Erik Razo Quiroz, 32, on Thursday for trying to divert police from capturing him.
A friend of the Corporal posted a picture of the suspect’s arrest on Friday afternoon with the caption: ‘The long arms of the law found you…He is caught.’
Arriaga was arrested in Bakersfield, about 280 miles southeast of Newman, where Singh was shot.
Officials at first did not release Arriaga’s name or age saying that he goes by several aliases and has several Facebook pages under different names and must be identified by fingerprint with police, according to The Modesto Bee. By Friday afternoon he was properly identified.
Just before 1am on December 26, Singh pulled over a man on suspicion of driving under the influence and was shot dead.
He pulled over Arriaga who was driving gray Dodge pickup truck in Newman, a small town 100 miles south of San Francisco, after noticing it had no license plate as part of a DUI investigation.
Soon after he walked over to the vehicle he called ‘shots fired’ over his radio.
Singh fired back to defend himself. He was found with multiple bullet wounds and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The gunman Arriaga then fled the scene before backup arrived.
Authorities launched a massive manhunt for the shooter after Singh was killed.
The Sheriff’s office released surveillance photos of the suspect shopping at a local store and pictures of his Dodge pickup truck.
Sheriff Christianson identified the fugitive suspect as an illegal immigrant, leading President Donald Trump jump on the case and rally for a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
‘This suspect is in our country illegally. He doesn’t belong here. He is a criminal,’ Christianson said.
The suspect’s Dodge truck was found 13 hours later abandoned at a River Road mobile home park registered to a man named Conrado Virgen Mendoza. Cops didn’t confirm if that name was one of the suspect’s aliases.
The car gave investigators plenty of evidence including fingerprints, DNA, and gunshot residue.
Investigators identified the subject but didn’t release his name as he may have had several aliases.
Singh was a native of Fiji and lived in Modesto with his wife Anamika and their five-month-old son. He joined the Newman police force in 2011.
Earlier in his career, Singh worked as a deputy with the Merced County Sheriff’s Department.
‘He was living the American dream,’ said Stanislaus County sheriff’s Deputy Royjinder Singh, who is not related to the slain officer but knew him.
‘He loved camping, loved hunting, loved fishing, loved his family,’ the deputy said.
Outgoing California Gov. Jerry Brown offered condolences to Singh’s family and said flags at the Capitol would fly at half-staff in his honor.
‘Our hearts are with the entire community of Newman and law enforcement officers across the state who risk their lives every day to protect and serve the people of California,’ Brown said.
A memorial fund has been set up by the police department in his honor.
In the Friday press conference Sheriff Christianson said that Arriaga was a member of the Mexican-American street gang Sureños.
In several photos on his social media and pictures shared by police, a tattoo on his right arm affiliates him with the notoriously bloody gang.
In one of the photos a flaming skull tattoo with the word ‘$ur3no$’ is visible on Arriaga’s right arm, which according to police in Washington is Spanish for ‘southerners’.
‘Sureños are a group of Mexican-American street gangs with origins in southern California. The gang has allegiance to the [California] prison gang, Mexican Mafia, aka “La Eme,” according to a gang recognition guide.
The group is located in southern California which is just south of Bakersfield. The gang has been linked to murders and human smuggling crimes along the U.S.-Mexico border.
On several of Arriaga’s Facebook pages, the Sureños tattoo is visible. One profile shows him in several photos posing with a pistol.
Cop or not, this is now a reality, criminals being released from South America. Our families are next.
Very true
And another reason why no one in this country should be getting their guns taken for ANY stupid made up non constitutional reason
Hell they should be handing out BMG’s and 4 crates of Ammo for it
Let me guess
They didn’t kill him , right?
But don’t you dare try to sell any cigarettes or we will murder you and get a raise
Or point your cell phone at them … pew pew pew