'Armed And Dangerous' Homicide Suspect Arrested In Northern California: Police

A man suspected in the shooting death of an Arizona man was arrested three hours outside of the Sacramento area on Saturday morning, Tempe police officials said. According to police, an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer is credited with spotting a car, which was associated with Caleb Bartels, parked alongside a highway in Doyle. Police officials in several states had been searching for Bartels, who was believed to have fled to Sacramento or Oregon.

Officers conducted a high-risk stop, and Bartels was taken into custody without incident. He was booked into the Lassen County Jail in Susanville. Arizona investigators are traveling to California to contact Bartels as part of the homicide investigation.

Before he was identified as a suspect, Bartels, 27, who was considered armed and dangerous, was stopped by police in Arizona, Utah and Nevada and believed to be headed to Northern California or the Portland metro area of Oregon. Police were not able to explain Bartels' connection to Sacramento or Oregon due to the nature of the investigation.

During the early morning hours on Jan. 15, police in Tempe, Arizona, responded to a home to investigate a report of shots fired and discovered Ryne Zahner, who was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Police said he was later pronounced dead.

After further investigation, detectives identified Bartels as a suspect and obtained a nationwide emergency warrant for charges of homicide, criminal damage, burglary and aggravated assault through the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

Photo courtesy Tempe Police Department