church's chicken

What Led San Diego Police to Suspect in Church's Chicken Shooting

Court documents reveal behind the scenes of the investigation

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On Friday, court documents revealed how police were able to track the suspect in Church's Chicken shooting.

Investigators were able to obtain surveillance video that showed a man entering and leaving Church's Chicken in Otay Mesa before and after the shooting on Nov. 6. It also showed the same man arriving on the scene and leaving in a 2005 to 2010 model Dodge Charger, according to court documents.

The car is described in court documents, as "blue in color, with tinted windows, and distinct chrome or silver-colored aftermarket wheels."

With that information, detectives began searching their police database.

NBC 7's Alex Presha is at the Churchs Chicken after learning that the shooting suspect was arrested.

"They searched dozens of records of vehicles with police contacts within the last two years. They compared recent images of those vehicles, either through public source information (internet sites) or License Plate Readers, to footage from the homicide scene of the vehicle," according to the court documents.

Detectives found a vehicle that had been recorded on body camera footage by a San Diego Police officer conducting a field interview on Sept. 28.

"Based on...comparison of the wheel details, paint and vehicle details, these two vehicles appear identical," court documents said.

That car led police to Albert Blake.

Blake matched the descriptions given by witnesses at the scene of the crime. Cell phone information also placed him near Church's Chicken about the time of the shooting. That information was backed up by video from the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), which was backed up by street cameras.

Investigators used cell phone videos to find the car. They found Blake had contacted a woman in Spring Valley five times after the shooting. They determined he may have been at her apartment after the shooting as they found the car in the woman's parking space.

Officials were able to search the car and found two fake $100 bills, along with a wallet with personal Identification for Albert Blake, according to the search warrant.

The victim, 28-year-old Maribel Ibanez was shot and killed when she refused to accept the suspect's $100 bill to pay for his food.

Investigators also requested a warrant to get information from Fastrak for freeways in the South Bay and for the Toll Roads of Orange County.

Investigators believe Blake went to Pomona after the shooting, where he has a family.

In the end, after being on the run for more than two weeks, Blake was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee.

He was brought back to San Diego where is being held on a $5 million bail.

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