The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office asked Friday for further investigation into the killing of a woman who was allegedly shot in the head by her ex-husband at her Covina apartment.
Miguel Prieto — who was on probation in a 2015 assault with a deadly weapon case — was booked Wednesday night on suspicion of murdering Maria Perez, 42. She was found earlier that day by a family member in her residence in the 1300 block of West San Bernardino Road and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives interviewed several witnesses and family members and identified her ex-husband as a possible suspect, according to Covina police Lt. Ric Walczak.
Prieto, who drives a distinctive black work van, was spotted in the vehicle by detectives in the parking lot of a Del Taco restaurant in Long Beach, the police lieutenant said. The Long Beach resident was taken into custody without incident and a revolver was recovered from his van, according to Walczak.
Prieto’s 2015 assault with a deadly weapon arrest occurred at that same Covina apartment where the victim was killed, according to Walczak, who told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that he believed the victim in that case was Perez’s ex-boyfriend.
Prieto remained in the Covina jail Friday afternoon, according to jail records.