Arrest: Authorities capture third suspect in killing of pregnant woman

Police have arrested a third person in connection with the May shooting death of a pregnant woman in Mid-City.

Los Angeles Police detectives said Tuesday they had taken Angulo Romero, 19, into custody after he was apprehended in Atlanta by the U.S. Marshals Service. Romero had spent nearly six months on the run.

LAPD Det. Eric Spear said Romero flew to Atlanta two days after the slaying. Romero, who is biracial and bilingual, "changed his physical appearance in an attempt to elude the marshals in Atlanta," Spear said.

He is suspected of participating in the gang-related shooting that resulted in the death of Jana Collins, a 26-year-old black woman, and her unborn child  May 5.

Collins, who was 18 weeks pregnant at the time, was sitting in a parked car when gunmen opened fire on a group of people. She was hit once in the head. Friends jumped in the car and drove her to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead about 9:30 a.m., police said.

The unborn baby, later identified as Desire Green, was delivered by emergency C-section. Desire died shortly after delivery, according to coroner's records.

The intended target appears to have been Collins’ husband, who police said was a suspected gang member visiting friends in the neighborhood.

Authorities arrested two other suspects about a month after the incident: Cecil Levi Laurent, a 23-year-old black man, and Asfaw Abebe, a 24-year-old black man. The two remain at the North County Correctional facility in Castaic. Their next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 1 at the Airport Courthouse near LAX.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has charged the three suspects with five felony counts, including two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of carrying a loaded firearm as an active participant in a street gang.

If convicted, the men face a maximum state prison sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Reporter Andrew Blankstein has more on the story: Third suspect arrested in slaying of pregnant newlywed in Mid-City

Photo: Jana Collins, 26. Credit: California Department of Motor Vehicles