Crime & Safety
Police Credit Community for Arrest in Morales Killing
Officers said they were able to target and track down a suspect thanks to information provided by witnesses at the scene.
, LAPD Officers have arrested a 20-year-old man they believe is responsible for the killing.
The arrest took place at around 5 p.m. near the Franklin High School football field, according to witness reports.
"It was a dramatic foot pursuit, perimeter, K9 search and arrest," according to a post on LAPD Northeast's Facebook page.
Find out what's happening in Highland Park-Mount Washingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Officers declined to release the name of the suspect, because he has not yet been formally charged by the district attorney.
As previously reported on Patch, Detectives believe the killing of Morales and non-fatal wounding of his brother on Saturday evening to be gang related.
Find out what's happening in Highland Park-Mount Washingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
In many cases, According to Detective Rick Ortiz, community members are too intimidated to cooperate with police investigations into gang related crimes.
In this case, however, Homicide Detective Jose Carrillo said community input was vital.
"Without community involvement we would not have been able to arrest him," said Detective Jose Carrillo, of LAPD Northeast's Homicide Unit. "The reason the arrest was made quickly is that we had outstanding cooperation with witnesses at the scene. That's why we were able to actively pursue him. We had very little information as to where he might have been. The community members are the ones who provided info as to his whereabouts."
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
