Crime and Courts

Man suspected of gunning down teen Navy sailor outside East Village club in custody: SDPD

Ta'Kari Terell Benness, 20, was taken into custody in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on suspicion of fatally shooting Operations Specialist Seaman Apprentice Albert Soto

A suspect was arrested this week in connection with the slaying of an 18-year-old Navy man who was gunned down last summer near Petco Park.

Ta'Kari Terell Benness, 20, was taken into custody Wednesday in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on suspicion of fatally shooting Albert Soto of Queens, New York, according to the San Diego Police Department.

Two young men died in two separate shootings over the holiday weekend. One relates to a series of shootings in Chicano Park. The other death is a Navy Sailor. NBC 7’s Kelvin Henry has the details.

Patrol officers responding to reports of gunfire found Soto mortally wounded at the intersection of F Street and Ninth Avenue shortly before 1 a.m. Aug. 31, SDPD Lt. Lou Maggi said.

The victim was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.

An 18-year-old servicemember was killed and four people wanted in connection with his death are on the run. NBC 7's Kelvin Henry reports.

On the night of his death, Soto and some friends of his got into a confrontation with four men inside a downtown San Diego nightclub, according to police. The groups eventually left the venue via separate exits, but continued arguing outside intermittently for about a half-hour, until the fatal gunfire erupted.

The shooter and his cohorts then ran off, Maggi said.

Operations Specialist Seaman Apprentice Soto, a New York native who was assigned to USS Pinckney at Naval Base San Diego, had reported to San Diego for military service in April, six months after enlisting, according to the Navy.

Contact Us