Police officials confirmed on Dec. 28 that the man who they believe murdered a California police officer on Wednesday was arrested.
The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrest at a press conference.
The suspect, an illegal immigrant, has not been named publicly.
He’s suspected of killing Newman Police Cpl. Ronil Singh.
Singh, 33, was shot dead by a man he pulled over on suspicion of driving while drunk early Wednesday. Singh was a legal immigrant; the suspect, who has not been named, was identified as an illegal immigrant who goes by multiple names.
Pictures posted by on social media were confirmed authentic by the Stanislaus Sheriff’s Office, which stated: “We can confirm these are pictures of the man who murdered Corporal Ronil Singh. We CANNOT, however, confirm that the correct name or birth date is being put out.”
Illegal immigrants often use fraudulent identities, including stolen social security cards, and aliases to try to hide the fact that they’re in the United States illegally.
The suspect in the police officer killing appears to be affiliated with a group of Mexican street gangs. One of the pictures shows him with a large flaming skull tattoo and underneath is the word “$ur3no$.”
The Everett, Washington gang recognition guide (pdf) states, “Sureños are a group of Mexican-American street gangs with origins in southern California (south of Bakersfield). The gang has allegiance to the [California] prison gang, Mexican Mafia, aka “La Eme.'”
During a press conference on Thursday, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said: “We will relentlessly continue to hunt our suspect down and bring him to justice so that ... we can bring closure onto this community and this police department. This suspect is in our country illegally. He doesn’t belong here. He is a criminal.”
Singh left behind a wife and young child.
This undated photo provided by the Newman Police Department shows officer Ronil Singh of Newman Police Department who was killed by an unidentified suspect. (Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department via AP)
“This is a man that I saw every day he worked. This is a man that I relieved on Christmas Day so he could go home and spend time with his family and his newborn child,” added Newman Police Chief Randy Richardson, reported KCRA.
“I think that what’s being lost here is yes, he was a police officer and that’s why all of you are packed in this room—because he was tragically taken from us. But what needs to be known is he was truly just a human being and an American patriot.”
President Donald Trump noted that another illegal immigrant is suspected of carrying out a murder.
“There is right now a full-scale manhunt going on in California for an illegal immigrant accused of shooting and killing a police officer during a traffic stop,” he stated on Twitter on Thursday. “Time to get tough on Border Security. Build the Wall!”
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