COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) – On Friday, the Columbus Police Department (CPD) announced the arrest of a murder suspect in connection with a 2021 shooting.

On Oct. 12, 2021, around 6:50 p.m., Columbus Police Officers responded to 47th St. and 12th Ave. regarding a shooting. After arriving at the scene, responding officers found the victim, Lorenzo Vasquez-Lopez, who suffered a gunshot wound in the abdomen.

According to the police department, Vasquez-Lopez was later pronounced dead. The CPD Homicide Division initiated an investigation, and an arrest warrant for Mikita Leonard was subsequently issued.

On Friday, authorities arrested Leonard in Columbus, Georgia. Leonard is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Recorder’s Court on Aug. 15 at 9 a.m.