Man Found Dead In California Park Days Before Christmas, Suspect Nabbed 17 Months Later

A suspect has been arrested more than a year after a person was killed inside a California park, police said.

On Dec. 22, 2020, police in Riverside, California, responded to a park and found 32-year-old Cedric Omarr Dempsey dead from a gunshot wound to the head, according to authorities.

Investigators, including those from the gang intelligence unit, poured over the case during the next 17 months.

Officers identified Arthur Lawrence Akins III, 50, as the suspect in the case.

On May 21, Riverside police arrested Akins at an apartment. Investigators have not released or motive or said if Akins knew Dempsey before the alleged shooting.

The case remains under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact (951) 353-7134.

Akins was charged with murder and weapons violation. He is being held in a California jail on $1 million bail.