Yuma Marine Arrested in Connection with Fatal Shooting in Texas

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(Defense Department photo)
(Defense Department photo)

U.S. Marshals arrested an active-duty Marine on Tuesday in connection to the New Year's Eve murder of a woman in Denton, Texas, an official said.

Cpl. Eric Johnson of Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-1 was arrested at the north gate of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, around 6:30 a.m., officials with the air station said in a press release. The arrest followed the issuance of a warrant in connection with the shooting.

Officials didn't immediately have additional information about Johnson and his military career.

Sara Mutschlechner, a 20-year-old student at the University of North Texas, was shot just after 2 a.m. Jan. 1 after leaving a New Year's Eve party, according to reports in the Denton Record-Chronicle.

She was driving a four-door Hyundai when an SUV pulled alongside her. An individual in the SUV opened fire, shooting Mutschlechner in the head, causing her to lose control of the car and crash into an electric pole. She died at Denton Regional Medical Center that evening.

The Yuma Provost Marshall's Office and Naval Criminal Investigative Service assisted the U.S. Marshal Service and the Yuma Police department in the arrest of Johnson, officials said in the release. They continue to support the ongoing investigation into the crime.

--Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@monster.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.

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