FBI Offers $25K Reward For Arrest Of Fugitive Ex-LAPD Officer
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to the arrest of a probationary Los Angeles Department officer wanted for fatally shooting a man in Pomona.
Henry Solis, a 27-year-old rookie fired Tuesday from the LAPD, remains at large. Federal officials say his father, Victor Solis, drove the former officer to El Paso, Texas and dropped him off at a bus station.
He is suspected of pursuing and gunning down Salome Rodriguez Jr., 23, after getting into a fight with the victim in downtown Pomona early on March 13.
According to an affidavit filed in support of a federal arrest warrant, investigators learned from family members, friends and witnesses that after the shooting, "Solis made incriminating statements about his role in the murder of Rodriguez and stated that he would never be seen again."
Solis then called his father, Victor Solis, in Lancaster, and soon after, "Victor Solis left home in a hurry," according to the affidavit.
Victor Solis, his pickup truck and dog were seen in El Paso the next day at the home of family members, according to the federal document.
In an interview with El Paso FBI agents, Victor Solis admitted to driving his son to El Paso on the day of the shooting and dropping him off at a bus station, but denied knowing his son's whereabouts, according to the affidavit.
A local arrest warrant for Henry Solis — who authorities say has ties to Juarez, Mexico, but may still be in Texas — was issued Monday.
Before announcing Henry Solis' firing, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck urged the fugitive to surrender, saying he has "dishonored" the department.
Solis was hired last June and has been in the field in the San Fernando Valley's Devonshire Division since November.
He was in the Marine Corps before joining the police department.
Rodriguez was gunned down near Third and Main streets about 3:30 a.m. Friday following a fistfight at a nearby bar.
He died at a hospital.
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