Arrest made in Sacramento freeway shooting that killed retired correctional officer

Investigators tracked down a car and arrested a man suspected of shooting another motorist Monday in a deadly road rage incident on Interstate 5 in Sacramento that started several miles away on another freeway, the California Highway Patrol reported.

David Perry, 33, of Sacramento was arrested on suspicion of homicide and booked at the Sacramento County Main Jail, the CHP North Sacramento office announced in a news release Tuesday. Perry was booked at the jail early Tuesday and was being held without bail.

Lufino Reyes Mejorado, 60, of Sacramento died in the shooting along the southbound lanes of Interstate 5, according to the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office. Mejorado is a retired state correctional officer, according to public records.

About 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, CHP officers received a report of a road rage incident that began in the area of Interstate 80 and Watt Avenue and continued onto the southbound lanes of Interstate 5, just north of Richards Boulevard. Callers reported a maroon Dodge Ram pickup and a white Mercedes=Benz sedan were involved in the incident.

The CHP said the two vehicles were heading south on I-5 near Richards Boulevard when the Mercedes driver pulled up next to the Dodge pickup and fired a gun multiple times.

The Dodge driver, later identified as Mejorado, was struck by gunshots, but he was able to pull to the freeway’s shoulder, according to the CHP. He was immediately taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries a short time later.

Authorities shut down the I-5 southbound lanes, between J Street and Interstate 80, for a few hours Monday as officers worked at the scene. Investigators from the CHP Valley Division were called to the scene to conduct the shooting investigation.

About 5 p.m. Monday, investigators found the white Mercedes sedan believed to have been involved in the shooting. The CHP said the car was found near the 3500 block of Watt Avenue.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for the car and the registered owner’s address. The CHP said investigators served the search warrant and seized evidence. CHP investigators determined Perry was the alleged shooter in the I-5 confrontation and later arrested him.

Investigators asked anyone with information about this fatal shooting to call the North Sacramento CHP office at 916-384-2300, or the CHP Valley Division’s Investigative Services Unit at 916-731-6300.