FBI: Father of fugitive ex-LAPD cop helped son flee to Mexico

Authorities said they have now determined that the father of an ex-LAPD police officer now on the run after a fatal shooting actually took his son across the border to Juarez, Mexico.

Victor Solis was arrested Thursday by FBI agents and charged with lying to federal officers during the course of a criminal investigation.

The father was expected to appear in a downtown federal courtroom Thursday, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

Henry Solis, 27, disappeared after a fatal March 13 shooting near a Pomona nightclub and is now charged with murder.

Victor Solis initially told investigators that he drove his son across several states to Texas, dropping him off at a bus stop in El Paso, according to court documents.

Victor Solis reportedly told authorities that he had no idea where his son went from there.

Now, the FBI says that the father lied to investigators and that a video from the border crossing shows the elder Solis with his fugitive son using the pedestrian crossing to enter Juarez.

An FBI agent said in the criminal complaint that he specifically asked the older Solis if he had crossed the border with his son and that he denied it.

Before disappearing, Henry Solis, who was quickly fired after he vanished, “made incriminating statements” and said that “he would never be seen again,” according to Special Agent Scott F. Garriola, in an affidavit.

Cmdr. Andrew Smith said Los Angeles Police Department officials hope Solis will “turn himself in as quickly as possible.”

Henry Solis, 27, was charged last week with fatally shooting Salome Rodriguez Jr. in a parking lot near an area of Pomona packed with popular bars and nightclubs, court records show.

A Volkswagen Jetta that Solis was driving the night of the killing was found a few blocks from the shooting scene. The hunt for Solis now involves federal authorities.

Follow Southern California crime @lacrimes and @katemather