Local News in Brief : Swiss Seize Suspect in Van Nuys Slaying

Police in Switzerland have arrested an Israeli national in the February shooting death of a 33-year-old Los Angeles man in Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks Park and Recreation Center.

Arrested was Ilan Maya, who had fled to Israel but was believed to have lived in Hollywood, on Wednesday morning in a hotel in Geneva, Los Angeles Police Detective Mel Arnold said.

Maya, 30, was charged April 2 with the murder of Efream Zamir and the attempted murder of a second man, whose name has not been disclosed, in the same Feb. 5 incident.

Maya allegedly shot Zamir in the leg with a handgun of an unknown caliber, Detective Pat Anguiano said. The bullet severed an artery and Zamir bled to death. Maya also allegedly shot at but missed the second man, who later identified Maya to authorities.

The motive for the park shootings has not been firmly established, but detectives suspect it was related to drugs.

Sometime after the shooting, Maya fled the country. Interpol, a non-governmental cooperative police agency that acts as a clearinghouse for the exchange of information, began tracking Maya’s movements.

Maya left Israel late Tuesday for Switzerland. Shortly after he arrived, Interpol agents directed Swiss police to the hotel where Maya was arrested, Arnold said.

The Los Angeles Police Department has begun extradition proceedings.