A man has been detained in the murder of 13-year-old Saith Mendez, who was visiting his mother at a Pico Rivera gas station over the weekend, authorities said late Thursday.
Andres Chavez, a 20-year-old Pico Rivera resident, was identified earlier in the day as a suspect in Mendez’s deadly shooting on August 23, when his mother was working her night shift at the 76 Gas Station on the 8800 block of Whittier Boulevard just before midnight.
“In a senseless and unprovoked attack, this young man murdered a 13-year-old boy in front of his mother,” said L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn of Pico Rivera.
According to investigators, Mendez was walking back to his mother’s car when Chavez, who had exited the back seat of a parked vehicle, produced a weapon “without provocation” and shot the kid at close range.
“The suspect then stood over Saith and fired multiple additional rounds before fleeing on foot into a nearby residential area,” the county sheriff’s office reported. Mendez was pronounced deceased on the scene.
Deputies stopped Chavez just before 6 p.m. Thursday in the 9500 block of Whittier Boulevard and detained him, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
He was arrested on charges of murder and was being held on a $2 million bail, police said.
Anyone with additional information on the incident is invited to call the Sheriff’s Department at 323-890-5500. Those who wish to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit the lacrimestoppers.org website.
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