N.Y. Murder Suspect Arrested in Tustin
A man wanted in connection with a deadly barroom quarrel in New York earlier this month was arrested in Tustin on Friday by police and FBI agents, authorities said.
The suspect, George Scherer, 35, of Centereach, N.Y., was registered under a false name at the Tustin Motor Lodge, police said. He was arrested and booked at Orange County Jail on suspicion of murder and being a federal fugitive, Tustin Police Lt. Michael Shanahan said. No bail was set.
Scherer is suspected of shooting two people Aug. 14 after an argument at the the T-Shots Bar in Centereach. One died.
A day before New York authorities issued a warrant for Scherer’s arrest, Tustin police found him passed out in a phone booth outside a bar on First Street, Shanahan said. Unaware of the pending warrant, the officers called a friend of Scherer’s to drive him home.
On learning of Scherer’s alleged involvement in the murder, the friend tipped off Tustin police that he was in the area. Working with the Anaheim Police Department and the FBI, Tustin detectives checked several motels in their city and Anaheim, eventually finding Scherer at the Tustin Motor Lodge.
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