Man arrested in Torrance following pursuit was also wanted for Las Vegas homicide

A 21-year-old man arrested in Torrance following a pursuit that ended when he crashed into parked vehicles in a residential area last week was wanted in connection with a homicide in Las Vegas, authorities said.

Albertt Monterio was taken into custody by Torrance officers, Sept. 18, after they found him in the courtyard area of an apartment complex in the area of Anza Avenue and Emerald Street, Sgt. Mark Ponegalek said.

An officer attempted to pull Monterio over after noticing minor vehicle code violations about 11 a.m., Ponegalek said. During a brief pursuit, Monterio hit a bump in the road, launching the car into several parked vehicles and another with a driver who was uninjured.

Monterio then ran from the car into the apartment complex, Ponegalek said.

“He gives up and then that’s when they start piecing it together that he was wanted for murder in Las Vegas,” Ponegalek said.

Officers ran the plate, which came back to a car wanted by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in connection with the slaying of a woman whose body was found in a desert area by a hiker, Sept. 11, Ponegalek said.

Las Vegas detectives then flew out to Torrance and interviewed Monterio in connection with the woman’s death, Ponegalek said. The woman had been reported missing the day before her body was found, Las Vegas police said.

Fox 5 Las Vegas, citing a Las Vegas police arrest report, said the suspect had been living in a short-term rental in Las Vegas, possibly while visiting his grandmother, but was from Southern California and wanted to head home.

He told detectives he didn’t own a vehicle and planned to rob someone, Fox 5 reported. He contacted the victim through a personals ad and she drove them to the desert.

He told detectives he looked at the woman, said “I’m sorry,” and fired three shots, the station reported. He then pushed her out of the driver’s seat and drove off.

He was driving the victim’s car a week later when he was spotted by the Torrance officer. After his arrest, police said they found his belongings, two handguns and the victim’s phone inside the vehicle, Fox 5 reported.

Monterio remained in jail in Los Angeles County on no bail, according to inmate records. He will be extradited to Las Vegas where he has been charged with murder and robbery, according to court records.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed charges of fleeing a peace officer, hit-and-run causing injury and resisting arrest against Monterio, who pleaded not guilty to those charges Tuesday, according to court records.

Monterio’s city of residence was not immediately known, but he has ties to the South Bay, Ponegalek said.