Police search for homicide suspect in drug deal gone bad
An arrest warrant has been issued for an 18-year-old man wanted in a shooting death after a drug deal turned violent.
Sequoia Rey Sheahart is wanted in the death of Jesus Herrada, 18, whose body was found Jan. 7 in an apartment in the 5700 block of NW 16.
Police were sent to the apartment complex about 3 a.m. on a shots-fired call, and in the parking lot they found a shell casing, “two bags of pills, a cell phone and a small amount of blood” but were not able to locate a victim.
Police returned to the scene about 4:20 a.m. and found Herrada’s body in the bedroom of one of the units, according to a court affidavit.
Investigators interviewed a man, who was not identified in the affidavit, who said he witnessed the killing. He said he had been contacted by Sheahart, who wanted to buy 150 Xanax pills.
The witness said Sheahart arrived a short time later and told him to get in the rear passenger seat of a sport utility vehicle to make the transaction. He said Herrada was “standing outside on the stairs to make sure nothing went wrong.”
After he entered the SUV, the witness said, Sheahart turned around from the front seat, pointed a gun at him and demanded the drugs and his money. The man told police he refused, and two people started beating him over the head with handguns.
Herrada ran up and let the witness out of the SUV, but was shot after he pointed a gun at the other men in the vehicle, according to the affidavit.
The witness told police he went to school with Sheahart and had previously sold drugs to him. The witness identified Sheahart from a photo provided by the officers, according to the affidavit.
Sheahart is wanted on complaints of murder and robbery. Anyone with information on his location is asked to call 911.