A 21-year-old Texas man was arrested for allegedly shooting and killing a 52-year-old man while he was walking his dog in his Mid-City Los Angeles neighborhood, police announced Thursday.
Cliffton Kamal Styles was arrested at his San Marcos, Texas, residence early Wednesday evening for allegedly shooting Marcos Sandoval on March 12, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Sandoval was walking his dog about 5 a.m. near the corner of Genesee Avenue and Saturn Street when a dark-colored sedan approached and stopped at the northwest corner of the intersection.
Styles exited the car, exchanged words with Sandoval and fired multiple shots at him, according to the LAPD. Styles got back into the sedan and drove northbound on Genesee, police said.
Sandoval was discovered about 6:15 a.m. by a passerby, who called 911. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
The small white dog was not injured and returned home on its own, police said.
Investigators believe Sandoval was randomly targeted and Styles may have allegedly committed the crime while suffering from mental illness, according to the LAPD.
“Detectives determined that Styles traveled from San Marcos, Texas and arrived at Florida,” police said. “Styles then drove cross country from Florida to Los Angeles where he committed the murder. … Thereafter, he traveled to San Diego, returning to San Marcos, Texas.”
LAPD West Bureau homicide detectives urged anyone with information regarding the shooting to call them at 213-382-9470 or Crime Stoppers at 800- 222-8477.
