San Diego police say 20-year-old Ta’Kari Terell Benness has been arrested in Minnesota for the murder of Albert Soto, an 18-year-old U.S. Navy sailor from Queens, New York.

Soto was fatally shot in the East Village neighborhood of San Diego following a confrontation outside a nightclub.

Around 12:49 a.m. on August 31, 2024, officers responded to reports of gunfire near the intersection of 9th Street and F Street. An officer in the area found Soto on the ground with at least one gunshot wound. CPR was performed at the scene, and Soto was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators say Soto had been involved in a dispute with Benness and several others inside a nightclub earlier that night. The argument spilled outside and continued for roughly 30 minutes before the shooting occurred. Security footage, license plate readers, and witness accounts helped detectives identify Benness as the suspected shooter.

Authorities in San Diego worked with the Saint Cloud Police Department and federal partners to track Benness to Minnesota. On October 15, a California court issued an arrest warrant for Benness, charging him with murder.

The next day, Saint Cloud officers arrested Benness around 10:30 a.m. at 10th Avenue North and 2nd Street North, where he was a passenger in a vehicle. Search warrants were executed at two residences in St. Cloud: one in the 1000 block of 14th Avenue Southeast and another on Sequoia Avenue.

Benness was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Stearns County Jail, where he awaits extradition to California.

The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing. Authorities encourage anyone with information to contact the San Diego Police Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.