Police Wednesday evening arrested a 34-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting another man who was among a group of people chasing the shooter who was believed to have stolen something from a vehicle in Covina.
Covina Police Department officers responded about 4:15 p.m. Wednesday to an apartment complex in the area of Bonnie Cove Avenue and Calora Street after a UPS driver reported seeing a man matching the alleged shooter Trevor Howard Thompson’s description at the multi-unit structure, according to a department statement.
Thompson allegedly barricaded himself in the outdoor patio area of one of the apartments, refused officers’ orders to surrender and fired a round while in the patio area.
Thompson allegedly climbed out of the patio area armed with a handgun after about four hours and attempted to flee the area on foot, but was subdued by less lethal rounds and taken into custody, according to police.
Thompson allegedly fatally shot 38-year-old Joey Casias, a father of three and a 19-year UPS employee, about 11 p.m. Tuesday in the 1800 block of Covina Boulevard, according to police.
Officers were initially sent to the 1100 block of North Charter Drive about 11 p.m. Tuesday on a report of “a suspect who had allegedly committed a theft from a vehicle,” police said in a statement.
“The suspect had been seen by multiple neighbors who followed him as he fled to the area in the 1800 block of East Covina Boulevard,” police said.
“Several of these neighbors confronted the suspect and during the confrontation, the suspect brandished a handgun. The suspect fired the weapon multiple times at the group, striking one. This victim, a male adult resident of Covina, died at the scene.”
A GoFundMe account established to help Casias’ family had raised about $6,400 as of Wednesday afternoon.