Police Arrest Suspected Killer in Beach Holdup

Santa Monica Police Department investigators said Wednesday that they had arrested a man who admitted shooting a German tourist Oct. 12 during a botched robbery behind a beachfront hotel.

Following up on leads that took them to the East Coast last week, two detectives returned from South Carolina early Wednesday with Lamont Santos, a Los Angeles man who they said led the robbery and killing of Horst Fietze. Fietze, a 50-year-old painter, was vacationing here with his wife.

Santos, whose age was not released, was booked on suspicion of murder.

The killing made headlines because it coincided with a spate of gang-related slayings in Santa Monica and threatened to damage the city’s worldwide reputation as a tourist destination. The city has 2.3 million visitors a year, with Germans making up 15% of the local tourist trade.

Police scheduled a news conference today. It will be the first time they have spoken publicly about the case since they encountered several setbacks in the investigation in late October. Among those stumbling blocks were the release of two initial suspects and news that a sketch artist lacked sufficient information to produce a likeness of the gunman.

Lt. Gary Gallinot, a spokesman for the Police Department, said the news conference would provide information on yet another suspect police are seeking.

The detectives who made the arrest flew to South Carolina on New Year’s Day and began a course of interviews with Santos that lasted several days. The investigators were directed to the suspect by members of Santos’ family in California.

Sandi Gibbons, a district attorney’s spokeswoman, said prosecutors will review the charges today or Friday.

Already in custody are two 18-year-old women who have been accused in the case. Roshana Latiesha Roberts of Paramount has pleaded not guilty to murder. Tyrina Lakeesha Griffin of Los Angeles is facing proceedings in Juvenile Court because she was a minor at the time of the slaying. A fitness hearing has been scheduled for next week to determine whether she will be tried as an adult.

Investigators have said little about the women, except that they did not believe either of them actually shot Fietze.

Fietze, his wife and another couple were walking north in the 1600 block of Appian Way behind the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel about 9:25 p.m. when they were approached from behind by four strangers.

Fietze and the others, who spoke limited English, were apparently confused when the strangers demanded money, police said. When one of the strangers began searching Fietze’s pockets for valuables, the victim began to struggle and was shot.

The attackers fled without any valuables, and police said a fifth person may have been waiting behind the wheel of the getaway vehicle.