RIVERDALE, Ga. — Just a few hours after Channel 2 Action News told you about a murder suspect on the loose in Riverdale on Thursday, police took him into custody. And the police chief says Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes helped them crack the case.
Just after midnight on Friday, Riverdale police arrested Javin Fonseca and charged him with the murder of 16-year-old Michael Sinyard, who was shot and killed at a gas station last week.
On Thursday, Fernandes went to that gas station to find out what happened. While she was there, an employee told her that the suspect, who had not yet been identified, kept coming back to the store.
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Fernandes reported that sighting to Riverdale Police Chief Todd Spivey and he says that helped them catch Fonseca.
“We got a guy accused of committing a violent crime off the street very fast following our conversation,” Spivey told Fernandes.
Investigators said they didn’t know who Fonseca was until Fernandes’ tip that a witness had seen him at the same gas station where the shooting happened several times since the crime.
“So I immediately came inside, told one of the investigators and the patrol division commander, ‘Get some folks down there. He’s in the area now,’” Spivey said. “They talked to the clerk and the clerk said, ‘Yeah, he comes in here at the same time every day.’ Well you didn’t think to call the police?”
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Investigators ran his tag number, got a name and were able to secure a warrant. A few hours later, deputies had him in custody.
“That happened really fast,” Fernandes commented to Spivey.
“Yes, it did. And the reason it happened so fast goes back to your and my conversation,” he replied.
The victim’s father now knows who is accused of killing his son and says he’s glad Fonseca is off the street.
“He’s an idiot. He deserves what he’s gonna get,” Patrick Redeye said. “If he was that calm and easy to shoot somebody in the same spot, believe me somebody else was fixing to get killed if they didn’t pick him up.”
Police say Fonseca has been very forthcoming in their interviews with him about what happened.
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