Suspect arrested in broad daylight shooting homicide that happened near Walmart in Merced

A suspect in last year’s fatal broad daylight shooting near Merced’s Walmart has been arrested in Washington state.

Law enforcement arrested Marcellus Tremayne Harris, 21, in the city of Federal Way, about 30 minutes south of Seattle. Merced police believe Harris and Troy Melton, 20, are responsible for the July 19, 2021 shooting death of Dominick Hernandez, 18. Melton remains at large, according to a police news release.

On the day of the homicide, police responded to the Walmart parking lot just before 7 p.m. and found Hernandez inside a vehicle suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

At the time of the shooting, police said they believed the fatal shots were fired from another vehicle, although a motive for the shooting has not been released.

Merced police detectives Patrick Radke and Detective Steven Odom were the lead investigators, spending the past year tracking Harris with help from a U.S. Marshals Task Force .

Harris, who was taken into custody without incident, was booked into the Kings County Jail in Seattle, Washington. He will likely be extradited to Merced County.

Police are asking anyone with any information regarding this incident to contact Detective Steven Odom at 209-388-7814 or by email at odoms@cityofmerced.org.

This story was originally published July 23, 2022 at 9:29 AM.