Suspect arrested for killing teen at Merced Halloween party, shooting 7-Eleven clerk, police say

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A suspect has been arrested in connection to two separate shootings that killed a teen at a Halloween party and sent a convenience store clerk to the hospital in Merced.

Merced police say 21-year-old Darrion Murphy is suspected of shooting and killing 17-year-old Renzo Arellano on October 27th.

The teen was at a Halloween Party on Shirley Street near Merced Avenue when he was killed.

Officers say Murphy is also suspected of robbing and shooting a store clerk at the 7-Eleven on Gerard Avenue and Carmel Road on Tuesday, November 14.

"He's a violent predator, obviously by his callous actions with the homicide of 17-year-old, Renzo Arellano. And the actions that he did during the 7-Eleven robbery, shooting the clerk after he got the money. It was imperative that we wanted to get him in the custody," said Merced Police Department Captain Joey Perez.

Police say Murphy had a gun on him when he was arrested Le Grand on Tuesday evening, which he was prohibited from carrying as a felon.

He's now facing six more felony charges, including murder and attempted murder.

Captain Perez said Murphy was someone they were already looking at as a suspect in Arellano's death.

"After the 7-Eleven robbery, we were able to quickly identify him as the suspect, and we knew that he was the shooter in the homicide of Renzo Arellano," said Perez.

Investigators are still trying to piece together why Murphy shot and killed Arellano.

Meanwhile, the teenager's family held a funeral for him on November 17th.

"It's horrible, there's a family that's in mourning. They're going to be celebrating Thanksgiving without their 17-year-old son. I can't imagine what they're going through doing that, we're glad that we're at least able to give them some closure and know that we found the person responsible for this and we're bringing them to justice," said Perez.

Action News learned the 7-Eleven store clerk who was shot, was released from the hospital late last week. His co-workers tell us he's planning to go back to work once he's fully recovered.

Murphy is being held at the Merced County jail on a $1.7 million bond.

Merced police are encouraging anyone with information about either shooting to contact investigators.

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