Police Wednesday announced the arrest of two suspects in the killing of a homeless man in February 2020 in Long Beach.
Both suspects are accused in the shooting death of 33-year-old Joseph Roque, the Long Beach Police Department reported.
One suspect, 29-year-old Buchantha Suon of Long Beach, was taken into custody on Feb. 11 near his residence in the 800 block of East Eighth Street, police said. Suon was booked on one count of murder and is currently being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
The other suspect, 33-year-old Roth Chan of Tomball, Texas, was picked up Oct. 14 in Texas by Long Beach detectives, Houston police and agents of the FBI’s violent crime task force.
Chan was arrested near the 11500 block of Bolander Court in Tomball. He was booked for a fugitive arrest warrant from another state and is currently awaiting extradition to Long Beach.
Detectives believe the two suspects were near the area of Sixth Street and Lime Avenue looking for a person they believed was stealing property from Suon. They encountered the victim in that area and an argument escalated into the shooting, police said.
Anyone with information on the two suspects or the killing was asked to call Long Beach police detectives at 562-570-7244. Tipsters can also call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477. To issue an anonymous tip online, go to lacrimestoppers.org.
