> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Suspect arrested in last week’s homicide - URL: https://www.smdp.com/suspect-arrested-in-last-weeks-homicide/ - Published: 2003-09-09T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T02:51:55.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import *District Attorney and police will review evidence today* Santa Monica Police have arrested a Santa Monica man for allegedly killing a 19-year-old last week in an eastside neighborhood. Arthur Archuletta, 21, who is on parole for an unknown drug conviction, was arrested at his Michigan Avenue home on Friday. He stands accused of fatally shooting Jalonnie Carter last Tuesday in the alley east of 20th Street, between Michigan and Delaware avenues. Archuletta, who is being held in Santa Monica Jail for murder and a parole violation, hasn’t appeared in court. No charges have been filed against him. “We will be meeting with the DA’s office today to determine what charges will be filed,” said SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega on Monday. Police are looking for additional suspects in the killing, which was the first in Santa Monica this year. The circumstances surrounding the shooting are unclear, but many area residents wonder if it was gang related. The area, known as the Pico neighborhood, is a hotbed for gang activity, mostly between Latinos and blacks. Five separate shootings took place in the Pico neighborhood between May and June, although no one was injured. Archuletta went to Olympic High School with Carter, who was fatally shot in the back by a.22-caliber bullet that struck his heart. He died more than an hour later at a local hospital. Family members on Monday said Archuletta is innocent. “I’m so sick over this I can’t think straight,” said his mother, Terry Archuletta. “He’s being accused of a horrible crime and I know he didn’t do it — I know for a fact.” > “He’s being accused of a horrible crime and I know he didn’t do it — I know for a fact.” — — TERRY ARCHULETTA Mother of suspect Terry Archuletta wouldn’t say how she knows that her son is innocent but did offer a message to Carter’s family. “To the mother, I feel very much for her loss, for the loss of her son,” she said. “I truly hope they find whoever did this to their son, to the young man. My heart and prayers go out to them. It’s not fair, it’s not right for anyone to take another life and I have been praying for them.” “At least we know he’s not going to do it to someone else,” said Larry Joseph. Arthur Archuletta was raised and lives with his family in a small house at the end of an alley on Michigan Avenue that abuts Interstate 10, just two blocks from where the shooting took place and three blocks away from Carter’s home on 20th Street. Family members describe Arthur Archuletta as an athletic man who worked and went to school, but wouldn’t say where. One neighbor and former gang member who moved to Santa Monica from Watts more than 25 years ago, said Carter, who was black, and Arthur Archuletta, a Latino, used to hang out together as friends. The resident, who asked not to be identified for fear of being drawn into the conflict, said they never saw Arthur Archuletta involved in gang activity, but that young men in the Pico neighborhood have to try especially hard to keep themselves out of trouble. 3A5,“There’s been a race war going on here for years,” the resident said. Asked if Arthur Archuletta was involved in gangs, the neighbor said, “I’m not going to lie. I’m not saying he was an angel. But he was a good kid. It’s hard... I just wish the violence would stop.” The resident didn’t know if Carter had been involved in gangs either. Several Pico neighborhood parents said something needs to be done about the gang problem that has plagued the area for decades. They accused police of making the situation worse by treating a majority of residents there as criminals. Chris Bogle, a Santa Monica High School sophomore who lives in the Pico neighborhood, said the gang problem doesn’t seem to be getting better or worse since the shootings earlier this summer. Though he has never been involved in the violence himself, Bogle said he and almost every one else has either been caught in the middle or knows someone who has. While officials decide what charges, if any, to press against Arthur Archuletta, Carter’s family have made arrangements for his funeral, which will be held on Friday. The funeral will be held at 1 p.m. at the Church of Christ, located at 15th Street and Michigan Avenue. Carter’s body will then be buried at the adjacent Woodlawn Cemetery. In the meantime, those that knew Carter expressed dismay over the situation. They said he was not affiliated with gangs but targeted because of his appearance. Both Carter and his best friend, Paul Thompson, had been shot before. Many minority young adults who live in the neighborhood are often pegged as gang members based on their race, residents say. Thompson is now even more fearful as a result of his friend’s murder, his mother, Sandra Thompson said, adding she doesn’t understand why it happened. “Why would somebody pick on this kid?” she said. “He had the sweetest manners, you wouldn’t believe. “I’m so appalled,” she added. “I just want to know why. Why Jalonnie? This kid has never been arrested, never been to jail. Just sweet as the day is long. “I know kind of what (Shirley Joseph) feels, but not exactly. God forbid I ever do.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 9, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/090903.pdf?ref=smdp.com)