One arrested for deadly shooting

Newhall murder suspect caught by police in South Gate

A South Gate man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in the fatal shooting of a young man last week in Newhall, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Homicide Bureau said Thursday.

Joseph Monroy, 37, was arrested by South Gate police officers Monday while he was allegedly trying to steal a car, said Lt. Dave Coleman.

South Gate officers recognized Monroy from a f lier sent to police departments by Sheriff’s Department homicide detectives, Coleman said.

South Gate police booked Monroy on suspicion of gunning down 21-year- old Rudy Gonzalez, who was killed outside the apartment building in Newhall where he lived. The building is on Costa Brava near Valle Del Oro, just east of Newhall Avenue.

Coleman said shooting was not related.

Gonzalez was shot Jan. 21. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital but he was pronounced dead.

Deputies searched for two suspects said to

the gang- have f led the scene in a blue Chevy Astro minivan on Valle Del Oro toward Dockweiler Drive, according to a Sheriff’s Department radio report.

Colman said Monroy was arrested by South Gate police during a vehicle burglary investigation.

“Essentially, he was trying to steal a car,” the lieutenant said. “But because they had our f lyer with his picture, they had him detained for murder.”