Arrest in fatal shooting of woman in Hollywood
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles police have arrested a man suspected in the shooting death of a woman gunned down while walking with her boyfriend in Hollywood earlier this month.
Officer Matthew Ludwig says 31-year-old Ezeoma Obioha was arrested Friday evening on suspicion of murder. His bail was set at $1 million.
Thirty-year-old Carrie Melvin was fatally shot on a residential street just off Sunset Boulevard on July 5 in what officials initially believed was a random killing, reports CBS Los Angeles.
Officials at the time said the suspect walked up to the couple and fired one round from a shotgun, striking the woman in the back of the head. The suspect then jumped into the driver's seat of a black sedan and drove off.
Now, investigators are saying the shooting wasn't random like they once thought. According to police, Obioha had a business relationship with Melvin and the killing likely stemmed from a financial dispute.
Obioha, a security guard and the owner of a fledgling clothing line, had signed a contract with Melvin's newly launched social media company to market his business, Lt. John Radke told the Los Angeles Times.
A dispute erupted when Obioha wrote Melvin a check that bounced and Melvin threatened to take him to court, officials said. Melvin never received the several hundred dollars she was owed, police said.
"I'm thankful that he was apprehended and arrested, but we can't celebrate," Melvin's father, Bernie, told the Times Saturday. "This was a violent, senseless, meaningless act."
It's unclear how Melvin first crossed paths with Obioha, whose shop in the Mid-City area, Hoods Inc., sold urban-style T-shirts and hats. CBS Los Angeles spoke to several people who said they often saw Melvin and Obioha together.
According to officials, on Friday, Los Angeles police raided Obioha's shop, his home and a marijuana dispensary next to his shop.
Obioha, who had a state-issued security guard license that expired in May, worked as the guard for the marijuana dispensary, Lt. Radke said.
Obioha has not been charged. It wasn't immediately known if he has a lawyer who could comment on the case.