Man suspected in Rhode Island murder arrested in Georgia
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A 35-year-old man wanted in the fatal shooting of a Rhode Island woman has been arrested in Georgia.
Police in Pooler, Georgia — a Savannah suburb — say Derek Sheppard was found Friday afternoon after his vehicle was spotted in a Walmart parking lot. Authorities say they had received information suggesting Sheppard might be in the area.
Bernadette Ortiz, 50, was found with a gunshot wound in a second-floor bedroom of a city home at about 11:10 p.m. Wednesday, police said in a statement.
Police believe Sheppard fled the state shortly after the shooting. He was taken into custody in Georgia without incident.
Investigators told WPRI-TV they think Sheppard shot Ortiz following an argument inside their apartment.
Ortiz’s death is the city’s second homicide of the year.