Ex-Boyfriend Is Arrested in Girl’s Slaying : Crime: Police recover the car and weapon that they suspect were used in killing the popular Grossmont High student.

The former boyfriend of a 17-year-old Grossmont High School senior was arrested Friday in connection with her slaying, after La Mesa and San Diego police followed him and waited in vain for him to turn himself in.

The suspect, 19-year-old Alex Love II of San Diego, was an early suspect in the killing of Tameka Henderson, according to La Mesa Police Lt. Al Joslyn. Henderson, who lived in El Cajon, was a popular student at Grossmont High and had been voted class clown. Her death shocked the campus.

Henderson was shot Wednesday night in her parked car after leaving the photography studio where she worked. Witnesses said the gunman ran several blocks to where a getaway car and driver were waiting.

Police interviewed Love on Thursday and later in the day recovered from an unidentified third party both the getaway car and the possible murder weapon, a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol, Joslyn said.

“The information we were working on wasn’t necessarily a tip, but it led us to San Diego, whose (police) officers assisted,” Joslyn said. “Once we tied all the information together from Thursday and Friday from additional witness interviews, it was worked out that Mr. Love was going to turn himself in.

“We had him under observation on Friday, but when he appeared to be driving away from La Mesa, he was pulled over and stopped. We were concerned he was going to flee,” Joslyn said.

Love was arrested about 5:45 p.m. without incident and taken to the La Mesa Police Department for questioning. He was to be booked in County Jail downtown on suspicion of murder, Joslyn said.

Although the motive for Henderson’s killing was unclear, relatives and friends said the teen-age girl, who was the daughter of a minister, had been harassed by Love since the couple’s breakup in April.