La Mesa

An 18-year-old gang member believed to have killed one man and wounded two others in three separate incidents was arrested Monday afternoon in La Mesa, San Diego police said.

Larry Dominguez was taken into custody at 2 p.m. after leaving his brother’s house in the 7400 block of Mohawk Street. Officers had staked out the residence, police spokesman Dave Cohen said.

Dominguez was taken to County Jail, where he is being held on suspicion of one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder, Cohen said.

Police believe that Dominguez shot and killed Paul Mallory, 17, on June 9. Mallory was hit several times with shots from a .38-caliber pistol during an argument in the 5900 block of Kenwood Street.

Dominguez allegedly shot Jonathan Ruiz, 14, in the 1000 block of 40th Street early Thursday in a drive-by shooting.

He also allegedly shot James Yepiz, 26, early Saturday in the 1000 block of West Mission Bay Boulevard during an argument after Dominguez threw a beer bottle at the truck of a friend of Yepiz, Cohen said.

Ruiz, shot several times in the stomach with a .22-caliber pistol, was released Sunday from Children’s Hospital.

Yepiz, shot four times with the same type of weapon, was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla. He was listed in fair condition Monday.

Police recovered a .22-caliber weapon when they arrested Dominguez, but have not found the .38-caliber pistol believed used in the June 9 killing, Cohen said.