New York Daily News – by Sasha Goldstein
A rookie Los Angeles cop is on the run after police in nearby Pomona called him a person of interest in the early Friday shooting death at a local nightclub.
Cops on Sunday found the abandoned silver Volkswagen Jetta belonging to 27-year-old Henry Solis, a probationary officer with the LAPD, just blocks from the Vive Tequila Lounge and Nightclub in Pomona, a city about 30 miles east of Los Angeles.
Officers have been searching for Solis since Friday, when 23-year-old Salome Rodriguez Jr. was shot dead at Third St. and Main St. around 3:30 a.m. The two reportedly got into an altercation at the club before the deadly shooting outside the building.
A mortally wounded Rodriguez ran bleeding from the scene for about a block before collapsing in a parking lot, according to the Los Angeles Times.
He’d been shot five times—twice in the abdomen, twice in the left leg and once in the lower neck—by a skilled shooter who “did a good job,” a source told the Times.
“The shots were on point,” the source told the paper.
Solis was off-duty at the time of the shooting but “has failed to report to work since the murder took place,” Pomona police said.
“Solis’ whereabout is unknown, and we have reason to believe that he knows the police are looking to talk with him,” the department said.
Solis was assigned in December to the Devonshire Division in the San Fernando Valley and had yet to complete his probationary period as an officer. He’d had “no disciplinary issues” since joining the force, an officer told the Times.
“He was a good officer, as far as we know,” Lt. Ronald McDonald at the Pomona Police Department told the Times. “Whatever happened, happened.”
The victim’s grieving mom said her son was a warehouse worker out Thursday night with co-workers. Rodriguez, of Ontario, Calif., was also a missionary at the St. Catholic Church in L.A., the bereft woman said.
The family has raised more than $6,000 on a GoFundMe site to help pay funeral costs.
“My son had a good heart. I’d like to say the heart of gold. When he was little, he’d close his eyes and pray to God and that’s what makes me strong. He knew God alive and he’s with God now,” Lidia Rodriguez told KABC-TV.
“He was a good officer, as far as we know,….Whatever happened, happened.”
So good officers pump five bullets into someone they’re arguing with? That explains everything.
Thank God he was only a rookie or he’d be leading the league in civilian murders.
Another Mexican transplant. Slap on the wrist material.
probably didnt like taking NO for an answer from the guys girlfriend , so he killed the boyfriend
its what cops do..anyone surprised?