HUNTINGTON BEACH : Man Held in Slaying of 14-Year-Old Boy
An 18-year-old Huntington Beach man is being held in Orange County Jail on suspicion of murder in connection with the slaying of 14-year-old Nicholas Lynn Smith of Huntington Beach, police said.
The suspect, Luis Richard Villa, was arrested Saturday by Santa Ana police, who were watching a Huntington Beach home where he was staying, said Maureen Haacker, a police spokeswoman.
Villa was arrested at 6:40 p.m. as he tried to drive away from the house in the 8400 block of Jalm St., Haacker said.
According to police, Villa and Smith, a continuation high school student, had been friends until the time of the slaying.
Smith’s body, with a plastic bag over his head, was found Dec. 29 in a trash bin in southwest Santa Ana. He had been shot in the head.
Smith was reported missing by his mother on the night of Dec. 26. Police believe Smith was shot at Villa’s home in the 16900 block of A St. before his body was dumped in Santa Ana.
“They apparently had an argument. What it was about, we don’t know,” Haacker said.
Villa is being held in Orange County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail, Haacker said.
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