Fugitive Accused Of Gunning Down Cousins In Banning Captured

BANNING, CA — A Banning man wanted for a 2018 shooting of two cousins has been captured in Mexico and will be returned to Riverside County for prosecution on charges of murder and attempted murder, it was announced Thursday.

Brody Joseph Baca, 22, was arrested Wednesday in Puerto Penasco, Sonora, without incident, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. He was transported and booked at the Santa Cruz Detention Center in Nogales, Arizona, where he awaits extradition to Riverside County.

Baca was charged by the DA’s Office in January 2019 with one count each of murder, attempted murder, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm in connection with a deadly Dec. 28, 2018, shooting at 4 Brothers liquor store on East Ramsey Street in Banning.

That night, police responded to a 911 call about gunfire and found two men who had been shot. Alex Marcotte, 18, a member of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, died from his wounds at a nearby hospital the following morning. His 19-year-old cousin, Dylan Artea, was also wounded in the gunfire. Artea survived but was paralyzed from the waist down due to his injuries, according to The Desert Sun, which reported the two teens were attending a going-away party for a friend and stopped by the liquor store for snacks.

A motive for the shooting was not released, although police said it was not gang-related. An employee who was working at the liquor store at the time of the shooting said there was an altercation prior to the gunfire, The Desert Sun reported.

Banning police detectives determined that Baca was a suspect in the case and a warrant was issued for his arrest on Jan. 7, 2019, but he fled to Mexico before detectives were able to track him down.

The Riverside County Gang Impact Team, which is led by the DA’s Bureau of Investigation and is also a United States Marshals Service Pacific Regional Fugitive Task Force, worked with Banning police detectives, the U.S. Marshal’s Mexican International Liaison Unit in Arizona, and Mexican authorities to locate and capture Baca, the DA's Office said.

A month before the December 2018 shooting, Baca entered a guilty plea on a charge of carrying a loaded stolen firearm. He was granted probation, court records show.