ECHO PARK : Gang Member Held in Shooting Death

Los Angeles police have arrested an Echo Park gang member accused of shooting a 44-year-old man who apparently was mistaken for a rival gang member.

Timothy Fonseca, 21, was booked on charges of murder after being arrested Tuesday at his Apple Valley home, said Los Angeles Police Detective Gil Garcia of the Northeast Division. Fonseca was

being held on $1 million bail, but because he is a felon on parole, he will not be released, police said. Fonseca had previously been imprisoned for possession of a dangerous weapon, authorities said.

Arthur Mayer was shot in the head April 23, as he walked to his car with his wife at a gas station at Glendale Boulevard and Scott Avenue. Mayer and his wife had just celebrated her birthday at a nightclub, Garcia said.

Police said the shot was fired by a gunman standing in the 1900 block of Scott Avenue after someone had yelled out that rival gang members had returned to the area, Garcia said. About 15 minutes earlier, gunshots were exchanged among members of an Echo Park and Silver Lake gang.

But it is unclear why Mayer was targeted. Mayer was not dressed like a gang member and has no connection to gangs.

Mayer, who was shot once, was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died shortly afterward.

Witnesses helped detectives identify Fonseca, who they believe was the gunman. Fonseca moved to Apple Valley after being released from prison, but at one time he lived in the Echo Park area, Garcia said.