Car of rookie LAPD officer linked to Ontario man's murder found abandoned
POMONA, Calif. (KABC) -- Authorities have found the car belonging to a first-year Los Angeles Police Department officer who is wanted for questioning in the fatal shooting of an Ontario man in Pomona.
Police towed a gray 2013 Volkswagen Jetta from an alley near Monterey Avenue and Main Street Sunday afternoon, a short distance from where the homicide originally occurred.
The whereabouts of Henry Solis, 27, remain unknown. Solis has been missing since police identified him as a person of interest in the fatal shooting of Salome Rodriguez Jr., 23, in Pomona on Friday.
Investigators believe Rodriguez and Solis got into a fistfight that escalated into a fatal shooting around 3:30 a.m. Witnesses, however, told the family the gunman mistakenly confronted Rodriguez.
Rodriguez suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at USC Medical Center.
Solis was off-duty during the time Rodriguez was killed and didn't show up to work on Saturday.
Solis graduated from the police academy in November 2014 and was assigned to the Devonshire Division. He is described as being 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 185 pounds. His last known address is in Pomona, police said.
Salome Rodriguez Jr., 23 was fatally shot near Third and Main streets in Pomona Friday, March 13, 2015.
Rodriguez's family and friends gathered near the crime scene to mourn his death Sunday. In a circle, his loved ones set up a display of flowers and prayed.
Rodriguez, known to his family as Jr., was the second oldest of six children. His grieving relatives say he was a very spiritual and caring person.
"My son had a good heart. I'd like to say the heart of gold. When he was little, he'd close his eyes and pray to God and that's what makes me strong. He knew God alive and now he's with God now," said Lidia Rodriguez.
His family has set up a Go Fund Me account to help pay for his funeral expenses. You can donate here: gofundme.com/oqhq24.
Anyone with more information on this incident was urged to call the Pomona Police Department's Detective Bureau at (909) 620-2085.
