Rhea Mahbubani

San Pablo Police Arrest 21-Year-Old Man After Pregnant Teen Killed

San Pablo police on Wednesday announced the arrest of a 21-year-old man in Vallejo in connection with the shooting death of a pregnant teenager less than a week before her baby shower. Her unborn child did not survive either, police said.

The suspect was identified as Luis Javier Monje-Morales Jr. who is from Contra Costa County, according to San Pablo Police Cmdr. Sid DeJesus. A second person of interest, identified as Luciano Rogelio Duarte, turned himself in before 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Manuel Duarte said the victim, laysia McCoy, was his cousin and that his brother was not the killer.

"My brother is not the one who pulled the trigger," he said of the young man who surrendered to police. "Maybe he was there, but he's not responsible for the death of our cousin."

The shooting was reported around 7:50 p.m. Monday in the 1700 block of 17th Street. Officers found an 18-year-old woman, identified Tuesday as McCoy, lying on the road, bleeding from a gunshot wound. 

She was seven months pregnant, according to her family. Despite being rushed to an area hospital, the teenager and her unborn baby died as a result of trauma from the shooting, police said. 

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Vallejo Police Department
Suspect 21-year old Luis Javier Monje-Morales Jr. (left) was arrested Sept. 7, 2016 in connection with the death of a pregnant teen. San Pablo police say Luciano Rogelio Duarte is a person of interest.

McCoy's sister Shawn MacLuve has created a GoFundMe page to cover burial expenses. The family has been blindsided because the teenager was preparing for her baby shower on Sept. 11, but was instead killed, she wrote.

McCoy was "shot unexpectedly being in the wrong place at the wrong time," MacLuve said. By Wednesday, 29 people donated more than $1,100 of the fund's $5,000 goal.

"Your support is all we have. My sister would humbly appreciate all the help and support if she was here with us," she continued.

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