California man arrested on murder warrant

An Idaho State Police traffic stop in Coeur d’Alene resulted in the arrest of a California man wanted for a murder that took place in 2011.

On July 23, a motorist reported erratic driving to an Idaho State Police motorcycle officer who pulled over Jose Luis Gomez-Arreola, 36, and found that he had an active murder warrant from the state of California.

Court documents allege Gomez was the gunman in a March 6, 2011, Woodland, Calif., bar fight in which Gomez shot and killed 20-year-old Gabriel Ibarra and injured two others.

According to The Daily Democrat, the local paper of Woodland, Calif., an arrest warrant for Gomez wasn’t issued until a lengthy investigation concluded in 2015. Since that time, Gomez had left the jurisdiction and a nationwide bulletin was sent out for his arrest.

The bar at which the killing occurred, La Finca de Rivera, was the location of stabbings, fights and shootings. It was ultimately closed by California Alcohol Beverage Control for being a “disorderly house” that had been a drain on law enforcement.

Arrest documents and officers did not share the specific reason for Gomez’s presence in Idaho.

Gomez faces extradition to California for first degree murder, attempted murder, and premeditated attempted murder, among other charges. He is being held without bond in Kootenai County jail.