San Diego

A 1986 Isuzu Trooper believed to have been driven by Roger Sing Ip when he allegedly shot and killed a Mission Bay High School student is being studied for evidence, officials said Tuesday.

Investigators are awaiting results of tests that could show microscopic amounts of metal filings or gunpowder residue on the car, Detective Bill Nulton said.

The car was recovered Friday from a garage in Alhambra, east of Los Angeles, and returned to San Diego on Saturday, investigators said.

Police had been searching for Ip, a 32-year-old Pacific Beach restaurateur, and his car since the July 10 shooting of Kurt Von Yokes, a 15-year-old La Jollan. Ip, co-owner of the China Inn restaurant, fled to Los Angeles after the death but surrendered to authorities July 27 after his home and business were searched and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Last Thursday, Ip pleaded innocent to murder charges. He is being held in County Jail in lieu of $1-million bail.

On the night of the shooting, Yokes and two friends riding in a car almost collided with Ip’s Isuzu Trooper at Bayard Street and Grand Avenue in Pacific Beach, police said. After a brief exchange of words, Ip followed the car to a house on Christopher Street and shot Yokes as he and another passenger got out, they said.