A 39-year-old convicted felon from Los Angeles was arrested Friday for allegedly helping a man charged with murder for the shooting death last month of an innocent bystander in Long Beach.
Jovan Harris, who was arrested in Los Angeles by gang detectives, was one of five people whose arrests were sought for allegedly having knowledge of the killing of 24-year-old Anna Perez about 2 a.m. on Dec. 1 in the 300 block of Pacific Avenue and assisting the alleged shooter — Thomas Terrell McCreary, 42, of Sylmar — avoid arrest and prosecution.
McCreary is accused of opening fire on a rival group during an argument in a parking lot and killing Perez, who was standing nearby, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
Perez had no involvement in the dispute, police have said.
McCreary, who was arrested on Dec. 7 and remains jailed without bail, has pleaded not guilty.
The murder charge includes the allegation that McCreary personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury and death, along with an allegation that he has a 2007 conviction for first-degree residential burglary.
McCreary — who is due back in a Long Beach courtroom Jan. 24 — faces more than 100 years to life in prison if convicted as charged.
Others accused of having knowledge of the killing and assisting McCreary after the fact are:
–Samantha Kidd, 42;
–Anthony Garret, 21;
–Shanae Garcia, 33; and
–James Strong, 49.
All four Los Angeles residents are the subject of felony complaints and arrest warrants, as was Harris, who was arrested by Los Angeles Police Department gang officers.
Harris is also alleged to have been felon in possession of a firearm, He was being held in lieu of $1.085 million bail, police said.
Charges were filed against Harris, Kidd, Garret, Garcia and Strong on Thursday, when police presented additional case evidence to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.