POMONA, Calif. (AP) — An arrest warrant was issued Monday for a rookie Los Angeles policeman suspected of killing a man during a fight in Pomona while he was off duty.
The murder warrant is for Henry Solis, 27, who should be considered armed and dangerous, according to a statement from Pomona police.
Solis’ Volkswagen Jetta was found Sunday about four blocks from where the shooting occurred, and he may be driving a 1992 brown or tan Ford pickup truck with license plate number 4J79703, police said.
Solis is suspected of shooting Salome Rodriguez, 23, of Ontario, around 3:30 a.m. Friday during a fight near Third and Main streets in this city east of Los Angeles. He died at a hospital.
The men had both gone to a downtown bar called the Viva Tequila Lounge and Nightclub and got into a confrontation after leaving, Pomona police Lt. Ronald McDonald told the Los Angeles Times.
Rodriguez worked at a warehouse and was out with co-workers Thursday night, relatives told the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
Rodriguez also was a missionary with St. Vincent Catholic Church in Los Angeles, said his mother, Lidia Angelica Rodriguez.
Solis, who joined the LAPD in June, didn’t show up for work after the shooting. He is a probationary officer at the Devonshire Division in the San Fernando Valley.
Solis had “no disciplinary issues” since joining the LAPD, Cmdr. Andrew Smith told the Times.
Rodriguez’s mother urged Solis to surrender.
“Why are you running?” she told the Daily Bulletin. “Just turn yourself in. I can’t believe someone with a badge and a gun could do that to him.”
Henry Solis, LA Cop, Suspected Of Killing Man During Off-Duty Fight.