A Reading man charged with fatally shooting a man during an after-hours party at a city car wash is in Berks County Jail following his extradition from New Jersey.
Federico Perez Polanco, 43, of the 400 block of Spring Street was arraigned on criminal homicide, aggravated assault and firearms offenses Wednesday night before District Judge Alvin B. Robinson in Reading Central Court. There is no bail in Pennsylvania for criminal homicide.
On Aug. 2 about 3:40 a.m., authorities said Perez Polanco shot 32-year-old Luis D. Torres Jr. of Reading multiple times at close range inside Los Primos Auto Spa, 1407 N. Fifth St.
Torres was pronounced dead at the scene by a Berks County deputy coroner.
More than 12 hours later, Perez Polanco was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport on a warrant from Reading police as he prepared to board a flight to the Dominican Republic.
According to the probable cause affidavit:
Officers responded to multiple 911 calls reporting a shooting. Witnesses said the shooter fled in a minivan.
Security and traffic camera footage later showed the vehicle to be a Honda Odyssey registered to a relative of Perez Polanco’s.
Police noted Perez Polanco had been mentioned in previous reports involving that same minivan.
Traffic camera data showed the vehicle leaving Reading shortly after the shooting and eventually entering New Jersey.
A woman who was with Torres at the time told investigators that they had been at a nearby bar until after last call.
Some people mentioned a gathering at Los Primos Auto Spa, where a birthday was being celebrated, and she and Torres went there.
She said Torres stood a few feet inside the doorway while she sat in a nearby chair. At some point, she heard Perez Polanco shift to his right and say, “What’s going on?”
Security footage shows Perez Polanco and Torres locking eyes for about eight seconds before Torres walked toward him.
With their faces inches apart, the two appear to exchange words. Torres then leans in, placing his right ear near Perez Polanco’s face. Torres shoves Perez Polanco, who falls back against a window ledge.
Perez Polanco immediately stands up, pulls a gun and fires.
Witnesses reported hearing four to six shots.
Police didn’t provide a possible motive for the killing.
Criminal Investigator Barry G. Lust obtained a search warrant for the car wash. He found five spent shell casings scattered near the victim’s body; one casing landed on a billiard table. A sixth casing was found beneath one of the victim’s legs.
Additional security footage captured a minivan with its headlights off leaving the area shortly after the shooting.
Investigators compared Perez Polanco’s driver’s license photo with the shooter seen on video and found them to be consistent.
Investigators learned Perez Polanco had booked an evening flight to the Dominican Republic after the shooting.
Reading police and the Berks County district attorney’s office coordinated with the U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Transportation Security Administration and the Port Authority Police Department of New York and New Jersey to locate the suspect and take him into custody.
After Perez Polanco’s extradition was approved, deputies with the Berks sheriff’s office transported him from the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, N.J., to Reading for processing and arraignment.