California man arrested for attempted murder at Somerset County hotel
SOMERSET — The man was pursued by law enforcement across five states. Identified as Andrew Vega, of Riverside, California, he is now in custody in Indiana state for fleeing, by vehicle and by foot, and soon to be extradited to Somerset County to face attempted homicide charges.
The shooting
In the early morning hours of Jan. 4, Somerset Police Department was dispatched to a report of a shooting in the borough. Upon arrival along the 100 block of Lewis Drive at Holiday Express Inn, a male shooting victim from Lancaster was identified as Antonio Farrell, 35. He was suffering from two gunshot wounds in his upper legs. Farrell was taken to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown by Somerset Ambulance, treated and released later that morning, according to Somerset Police Chief Randy Cox in a prior interview.
Witnesses described the shooter as a Hispanic male driving a new Jeep who pulled up to the victim’s vehicle and fired five or six shots from a handgun in the victim’s direction.
Why: Lancaster man shot outside Somerset hotel early Thursday
Surveillance footage of the shooting was recovered and reviewed. The suspect vehicle was entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a computerized index of criminal information shared by law enforcement across the country. As a result of that entry, the Jefferson Police Department in Jeffersonville, Indiana, observed the vehicle. When attempting to stop the vehicle, the driver fled first by the vehicle and then on foot. The operator, later identified as Vega, was ultimately taken into custody and charged in Indiana for fleeing, according to Somerset County District Attorney's Office Wednesday.
A photo array, including Vega, was provided to the hotel clerk who identified him when he checked into a room. The shooting victim also identified Vega as the shooter, said District Attorney Molly Metzgar in a news release.
She plans to bring Vega back to Somerset County to face charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault,possession of an instrument of crime, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and propellingmissiles into a vehicle.
What is extradition?
The extradition began when Metzgar filed an arrest warrant for Vega. By doing so, Metzgar has enabled Indiana, where Vega was arrested and held, to respond to the warrant.
Indiana and Pennsylvania are not among the three states that do no extradite.
An overarching federal law deals with extradition, however, each state has their own extradition statute.
In Indiana, the extradition process began when law officers identified Vega as a fugitive from Pennsylvania. The officers first verify his identity and confirm the validity of the arrest warrant for extradition.
Other: Somerset man faces numerous charges involving theft and a drunken driving incident
Next, Vega goes before a judge to determine if he is indeed the person named in the warrant.
Vega has a right to test the extradition or to waive his right to a hearing where the judge determines if he is indeed the person named on the warrant. If he does not waive his right, a governor's warrant must be obtained for extradition to occur. Then, Somerset County law enforcement must make the trip to Indiana and bring him back to face the charges. There is a cost to such an action.
“In major cities trying to shoot a man to death in a hotel parking lot might be tolerated, but my message is clear, do not come into Somerset County to commit your crimes,” Metzgar said in a statement.
What: Hooversville man dies of multiple gunshot wounds, Johnstown man charged with homicide
“While the defendant may be the product of California, in Somerset County we don’t tolerate shooting someone in a hotel parking lot,” she said.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: California man arrested for hotel shooting in Somerset County
