MOBILE, Alabama -- The man responsible for killing a Mobile police officer will be charged with Capital Murder, according to District Attorney Ashley Rich.
Marco Perez, 19, allegedly killed 30-year-old Ofc. Sean Tuder just after 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon at the Peach Place Inn in West Mobile after Tuder was following leads to apprehend Perez.
“We will be asking for Perez to be held without bond and he will be booked into Metro Jail tonight,” Rich said. “I am authorizing charges against the suspect for capital murder for killing a law enforcement officer.”
“This is a time for grief for us,” Chief Lawrence Battiste said. “We are trying to make sense of how we could have another brother lose his life in less than a year. We’re thankful to those who have reached out to us so far, but this is a hard time for us.”
Perez’s history with law enforcement is lengthy as he was arrested in July 2018 for his role in a rash of 18 car break-ins. His mother, Tiffany Perez was arrested just days ago after she helped Marco evade police by filing an erroneous police report alleging he was kidnapped.
Atty. General Steve Marshall released the following statement on Twitter:
Tuder joined the Mobile Police Department in March 2016 and was named Officer of the Month in August 2017. His death comes a day after Birmingham police laid to rest an officer shot to death in the line of duty.
“He served with honor and valor and gave the ultimate sacrifice for people he didn’t even know,” Battiste said. “We ask that you pray for his family and brothers in blue.”
More than 2,000 people gathered Saturday for a celebration of the life of slain Birmingham police Sgt. Wytasha “Wyt” Carter. The 44-year-old husband, father, son, brother and uncle was killed in the early-morning hours of Sunday, Jan. 13.
Tuder is the second Mobile police officer to die in the line of duty since February 2018. That’s when Officer Justin Billa was killed in a standoff.
"This is still very much an active investigation -- an arrest is the easy part, but a conviction is the hard part so we will continue to do our research and conduct interviews in the coming days,” Battiste said.
Mayor Sandy Stimpson asked for the community to come together and support and uplift the police department.
“I’ll be praying for Krissy Tuder and the entire Tudor family as we go through this trying time,” Stimpson said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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