A suspect has reportedly been arrested in connection to the murder of a 28-year-old man on Auburn Boulevard in Sacramento last weekend, according to an official press release from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
Pavel Postelnyak, 23, of Sacramento was reportedly arrested on Wednesday, May 21, and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on a charge of murder. He is reportedly being held without the possibility of bail.
According to Sac Sheriff, at about 11:15 am on Sunday, May 18, officers responded to the 5500 block of Auburn Boulevard on reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, deputies reportedly were informed a male victim — later identified as Anthony Johnson, 28 — had been shot and was being transported to a local hospital by a private vehicle. Witnesses at the scene reportedly described the suspect as a white male driving a late 1990s compact Dodge four-door vehicle.
The shooting occurred in this parking lot on Auburn near Garfield.
Deputies reportedly went to the hospital to speak with the victim, confirming he had been shot and was currently receiving medical treatment. According to Sac Sheriff, later that evening the Corner’s Office confirmed the victim has succumbed to his gunshot wounds and died.
Postelnyak had been arrested earlier this year on March 4. According to the American River Current, he was accused of slapping a student at American River College. Following that incident, they quoted his mother, Larisa Postelynak as saying Pavel had changed when he was a 16-year-old, when he was injured in an attack from five men who hit him with a baseball bat while he tried to protect his cousin. She felt he became stressful and paranoid. He was at one time admitted to a mental health hospital, though not diagnosed, she told the Current. She felt he was mentally ill, despite the lack of a diagnosis at the time.
So far, a motive for the shooting and homicide is currently not known. Sheriff’s Homicide Detectives are still seeking information, and ask those with any information to contact the Sheriff’s Department at 916-874-5115.
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