Man arrested for 1990 armed robbery, slaying of South L.A. grocer

A man long suspected of killing a local market owner in 1990 is now in jail for the man’s slaying.

Marcus Lynn Perkins, 42, is being held without bail in the killing of Timoteo Pena, who was shot to death during an armed robbery at Pena’s Sinaloa Meat and Grocery Market in South L.A. 23 years ago.

Pena was killed in a shootout with an armed robber, Los Angeles police said in a news release. Witnesses described the suspect and vehicle that fled the scene and Perkins was questioned by detectives about the slaying later that night when he was admitted to a local hospital with a gunshot wound, but he denied any involvement.

“However, circumstantial evidence suggested otherwise,” LAPD officials said in the release.

But without enough evidence and witnesses to support criminal charges, Pena’s killing went unresolved.

Then in 2011, detectives reviewed DNA evidence from the killing and matched it with Perkins. His rap sheet also included arrests in 1990 and 1994 for robbery and a 23-year prison sentence. He was released from prison earlier this year and was arrested by LAPD detectives Monday. Perkins’ initial court date has not been scheduled, jail records show.

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