The ex-boyfriend of a 42-year-old Anaheim woman found shot to death on a Tustin street — apparently walking to her car after work — has been arrested in connection with the killing, Tustin police announced on Sunday.
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The woman was identified by police as Sandra Fernandez, but by co-workers and family in TV news reports as Sandra Rodriguez. She was found lying on Yorba Street after officers responded to shots-fired calls after 6:10 p.m. on Thursday, May 14. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses told authorities that a male suspect in all-black clothing fled the scene in a dark-colored, older model sedan.
Police now say that a former boyfriend, 47-year-old Juan Marquez of Hawthorne, lay in wait near her workplace, described on air as Families Together of Orange County.
Detectives “were able to identify and confirm Marquez’s involvement in the shooting,” a Tustin police news release said. It did not elaborate on that.
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Marquez fled into Mexico from San Ysidro, police said. U.S. Customs and Protection, acting on an arrest warrant obtained Saturday, May 16, detained him as he returned to the United States, the release stated.
Marquez was booked into Orange County’s jail system shortly before 1 a.m. on Sunday, May 17. He is being held without bail.
The victim was a single mother of three — ages 5 to 21 — and was killed as she walked to her car from a job she started a month ago, according to media reports.
“Even though it was just under a month, she already was making good relationships and having a great impact, so this is really a tragedy,” Cassie Rossel, described as her co-worker, told KTLA TV.
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This story will be updated as more information becomes available.