Suspect Arrested In Fatal Shooting Of Taco Bell Employee Alejandro Garcia

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - A suspect has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of an employee at a Taco Bell in South Los Angeles, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore Tuesday evening announced.

Moore personally informed the grieving family of the arrest during a Tuesday night vigil for 41-year- old Alejandro Galicia-Garcia, who was shot by a man in a black sedan who allegedly tried to pay for his meal with a counterfeit bill at the restaurant's drive-through window.

"And of course, it's not gonna bring him back, but it's gonna be a comfort so it doesn't happen to another person," said Karina Garcia, a cousin of Alejandro.

Police were dispatched shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday to the 9900 block of Avalon Boulevard, near Century Boulevard, said Officer Norma Eisenman of the LAPD's Media Relations Division.

Galicia-Garcia was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene, Eisenman said.

Galicia-Garcia was working at the location with his 19-year-old son, who was the one who denied the counterfeit money. Homicide investigators identified 39-year-old Jonathan Madden as the man responsible for Galicia-Garcia's murder. Members of the LAPD Gang and Narcotics Division located and arrested Madden at his home in South Los Angeles.

Moore said that the catch-and-release pattern of our local criminal justice system is emboldening violent criminals to commit more crimes.

"When they're back out on the street the next day, the next week, they have a new badge," Moore said. "They've got a badge of standing. And other people are now competing for that. So we gotta change that."

According to LAPD, the suspect is now in jail with a $2 million bail.

LAPD will send the case to the L.A. District Attorney's Office for filing consideration.