A manhunt is under way for an Anaheim resident believed to have murdered his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend, and the suspect’s friend is already in custody for the slaying.
Humberto Rodriguez-Martinez, 30, is believed to be hiding in the San Diego area, according to Anaheim Police Department spokesman Sgt. Daron Wyatt, who added the suspect’s Toyota Corolla was found in that same area a week after the killing.
Police were called about people fighting in the street near Helena and Santa Ana streets in Anaheim around 5 a.m. on Oct. 19, when officers rolled up to find Daniel Reyes, 32, of Los Angeles, suffering from at least one stab wound. He was pronounced deceased at the scene, Wyatt says.
Homicide investigators found out that Rodriguez-Martinez had been jealous of the new romantic relationship between his former girlfriend and Reyes, according to Wyatt.
It is believed that Rodriguez-Martinez and his friend Adan Zapot-Leyva waited outside the ex-girlfriend’s Anaheim residence until Reyes left, when they allegedly attacked him, says the police sergeant.
Zapot-Leyva was arrested without incident on suspicion of murder on Oct. 21. He was being held in Orange County Jail on $1 million bail.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Rodriguez-Martinez, says Wyatt, who adds the suspect “should be considered armed and dangerous.”
Anyone with information regarding the crime or Rodriguez-Martinez’s whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers, which accepts anonymous tips, at 1-855-TIP-OCCS or www.occrimestoppers.org.
A reward up to $1,000 may be paid for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Rodriguez-Martinez, Wyatt notes.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.