The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is actively seeking the public's assistance to locate Andrés Mateos, a 31-year-old man wanted for murder following a deadly shooting in May. According to a news release from the LASD and details shared on their Facebook page, the incident took place on the night of May 12 in Sun Village, an unincorporated area of L.A. County in the Antelope Valley.
Authorities were called to the scene around 9:30 p.m., where they discovered Oscar Medina-Partida, lifeless on the ground in a dirt lot, victim to a fatal gunshot wound. A female victim, also shot, managed to seek help at a nearby fire station, subsequently being treated and transported to the hospital. "Detectives have exhausted all leads and are seeking the public’s assistance in locating Suspect Mateos," officials said, emphasizing the urgency to find the suspect who is considered armed and dangerous. Mateos has since been charged with murder by the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office, and authorities have issued a $4 million warrant for his arrest, as reported by KTLA.
The alleged sequence of events, as investigators pieced together, suggests that Mateos was arguing with Medina-Partida and the female victim. During the confrontation, it is believed that Mateos "armed himself with a rifle and shot the victims. Suspect Mateos fled the location in an unknown direction," as per the Sheriff's Department's Facebook post. No further details on the nature of the argument or a possible motive have been released to protect the integrity of the investigation.
The search for Mateos continues to be of high importance, with law enforcement turning to the community for aid in apprehending the fugitive. The Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline has been put forth as an anonymous avenue for tipsters to provide information at 800-222-8477, or tips can also be submitted online at www.lacrimestoppers.org. The department has urged anyone with vital information regarding the suspect's whereabouts to come forward and assist in bringing closure to a case that has left a community in search of answers.
