SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The accused suspect in a road rage freeway shooting Monday that killed Lufino Reyes Mejorado, 60, was arraigned on felony murder charges Thursday.
David Perry, 33, appeared in criminal court in Sacramento in an orange jail suit. Perry was assigned a public defender who requested the case be continued to Jan. 20.
Perry faces felony murder charges including a special circumstance of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle with intent to harm.
The California Highway Patrol arrested Perry less than 24 hours after the freeway shooting which snarled traffic through the Interstate 5 downtown Sacramento corridor for hours Monday around 2 p.m.
Investigators say Perry shot and killed Mejorado, a veteran and retired correctional officer, in a case of road rage that spanned several miles.
Authorities say they received several 911 calls on Monday afternoon of reports of two drivers in an altercation on Interstate 80 and Watt Avenue. The dispute ended in gunfire on I-5 just south of Richards Boulevard, when investigators said Perry pulled up next to Mejorado and fired at him through the driver side window. CHP said Mejorado was taken to the hospital where he died shortly after.
"I was shocked because we hear things on TV before about road rage but until it homes close to the heart its sad," said Phil Sutton, a retired correction sergeant and close friend of Mejorado.
Mejorado was a retired correctional officer at California State Prison Solano, according to state officials, but beyond that, his friends say he was a man of faith, a loving father, a veteran and star baseball player. He even earned a PhD, and was certified as a Mental Health First Aid responder.
"He was very accomplished," said Djuan Perry, another close friend of Mejorado. "I've never seen him frown. He was always smiling. He was always positive, and I know he had down days, and I would talk to him... but he was resilient."
No family members were present in the courthouse due to COVID-19 protocols, though the proceeding was streamed online.
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