Karon Council, 18, had been on the run after being accused of killing a 10-year boy and injuring his mother before police tracked him down
Karon Council, 18, had been on the run after being accused of killing a 10-year boy and injuring his mother before police tracked him down US Marshals

Cops swooped on a teenage gang member who had been on the run after being accused of killing a 10-year boy and injuring his mother.

Karon Council, 18, was arrested by US Marshals and other officers on Sunday night (25 February) in Pompano Beach, South Florida, where he was reported to have been hiding with his girlfriend.

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Council, who is reportedly a member of the notorious Bloods street gang, is wanted for the shooting of Yovanni Banos-Merino and his mum, Lilia Merino, 38, when shots were fired into their Asbury Park home in New Jersey on Wednesday (21 February).

US Marshals assistant chief Manny Puri said: "Council was a very dangerous fugitive with no sense of value for life and could have easily continued his violent behaviour in South Florida."

The teenager is being held at Broward Sheriff's Office County Jail, and is expected to appear at Florida Circuit Court in Fort Lauderdale over the coming days for an extradition hearing to New Jersey where he faces murder charges.

Yovanni died from the gunshot wound he sustained and was pronounced dead at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. His mother, Lilia, was injured but released after treatment at the same clinic.

Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said another person living at the address was the intended target of the shooter, not the mother and her child. However, local prosecutors have not named the intended target.

The Bloods, also known as Original Blood Family, is a predominately African American street gang based in Los Angeles involved in drugs, theft, and murder.

The gang was formed was formed in the 1970s and adopted the colour red to distinguish it from the larger West Coast gang, the Crips.

The spread of crack cocaine use in the 1980s across the US helped the gang move beyond Los Angeles. By the early 1990s the East Coast Bloods, also known as the United Blood Nation, had been established by prisoners on Rikers Island, New York.

The gang became a significant presence in and around New York City, where they outnumbered the Crips. The Bloods is estimated to comprise of 20,000 members across the US.

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