The man suspected of shooting and killing a California police officer during a traffic stop early Wednesday morning has been arrested after a statewide manhunt, authorities confirmed on Friday.
Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson confirmed Gustavo Perez Arriaga, 33, was taken into custody after he was found in a home in Bakersfield, Calif. earlier Friday.
Cpl. Ronil Singh, 33, was shot and killed early Wednesday morning, shortly after he radioed in that he was pulling over a gray pickup truck with no license plates in the small town of Newman, Calif., according to the Associated Press. Newman is located about 100 miles southeast of San Francisco.
Singh’s brother sobbed as he addressed reporters during Friday’s press conference.
“He’s not coming back but there’s a lot of people out there that misses him,” he said.
Christianson said Arriaga entered the country illegally, has two prior arrests for DUI and has known gang affiliations. Christianson first announced Thursday that the suspect was an undocumented immigrant.
“He doesn’t belong here, he is a criminal,” Christianson said during a press conference Thursday while they were still searching for Arriaga.
After Thursday’s press conference, President Trump weighed in on the manhunt on Twitter, using it to back his argument for the border wall, which many experts agree is not an effective deterrent for migrants looking to enter the U.S. According to multiple studies, undocumented immigrants do not statistically commit crimes at higher rates than Americans citizens or those who enter the country legally.
Newman Police Chief Randy Richardson fought back tears on Thursday as he remembered Singh, a Fiji native whom Richardson said came to the United States for the sole purpose of becoming a police officer. Singh joined the force in 2011 and was one of just 12 members of the Newman Police Department. He is survived by his wife and 5-month-old son.
“Please remember the man,” Richardson also said. “Please remember the husband. Remember what he was, what he came to this country to do. Yes, he was a police officer, but most importantly he was a human being.”
