The man died on June 11 after police said he was shot dead by another man who tried to flee from the Yuma Police Department to California. Yuma police said Tuesday that the suspect had been taken into custody.
Police identified the suspect as Nicholas Berry, 27, who was arrested by Riverside Sheriff’s Department officers. Police did not say when the suspect was arrested.
At about 8:00 a.m. on June 11, officers were dispatched to the area of 10th Avenue and Arizona Avenue after receiving a call about a shooting. Yuma police spokesman Lori Franklin said police found a man with several gunshot wounds. The man has been identified as Benjamin Pilgrim, 51.
Police said Pilgrim was taken to Yuma Regional Medical Center, where he died.
Police said they derived a description of the suspect and the vehicle from interviews with witnesses at the scene. About three hours later, police found Ms. Berry’s car unoccupied near 25th Street and Virginia Drive.
Police found Berry owned a second white Cadillac that was found near 1st and 16th Avenues. Franklin said police tried to stop the car, but Berry ran away from them.
Berry fled toward California and headed west on Interstate 8 as police pursued him, officials said. Police said they called the California Highway Patrol.
Franklin said Berry crossed the Colorado River, exited the highway in Andrade, crossed an overpass, and then re-entered Interstate 8 in the eastbound lane at highway speeds.
Stop bars were deployed and the Cadillac collided about two miles west of the Winter Haven exit at B&C Colonia in Yuma, just north of the Arizona-California border. Police said the car flew off the roadway and overturned several times.
Berry was thrown out of the car. Franklin said he was taken to a hospital in California in critical condition. There were no other passengers in the car.
Police said in an update on June 20 that Berry had been released from the hospital and was being held at the Riverside County Jail.
Police said Pilgrim and Berry knew each other but did not provide further information about their relationship. The incident is under investigation, but police have not released details of what led to the shooting.
The Yuma Police Department invites anyone with information to remain anonymous and to call the Yuma Police Department at 928-783-4421 or 78-CRIME.
Police could receive a cash reward of up to $1,000 if information provided by the public leads to an arrest, Franklin said.
Contact Breaking News reporter Laura Daniella Sepulveda at laura.sepulveda@gannett.com or on Twitter. @lauradaniella_s
