LONG BEACH, Calif. (KNX) — A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a teen in Long Beach, authorities announced Saturday.
The victim has been identified as Joshua Simmons of Long Beach. Simmons was shot in connection with a cellphone transaction that allegedly went wrong, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
Shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Friday police responded to a call at a public housing complex in the 1000 block of East Via Wanda between Orange and Atlantic avenues, the LBPD told City News Service.
There, officers found Simmons on a basketball court suffering from gunshot wounds to his upper body. Paramedic responded to the scene, but Simmons was pronounced dead before he could be transported to a hospital.
Police later learned that Simmons had arranged to buy a mobile phone from someone through an online marketplace service, and planned to meet the seller at the shooting scene. During the transaction, a fight was alleged to have occurred, which escalated into the fatal shooting, police said.
Detectives zeroed in on Jose Bustamante Cardenas, 24, of Los Angeles, as the suspect responsible for the shooting. Cardenas was arrested on suspicion of murder and a firearm was allegedly found on his person. He was booked into Long Beach jail on Friday and was being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
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