WENDELL, Idaho — A suspect has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with a fatal shooting that occurred Monday afternoon in Wendell.
Cesar Mikeas Padilla Agular, 38, appeared in Gooding County court on Tuesday for his arraignment, where he was formally charged with murder in the first degree and discharging a firearm into a vehicle.
Agular's bond has been set at $1 million.
WATCH: Murder charges filed against suspect in deadly Wendell shooting
According to the Gooding County Sheriff's Office, the shooting happened around 4:30 p.m. Monday outside an auto parts store.
Agular allegedly shot and killed Matthew Bodsford in front of multiple witnesses before he fled the scene.
"When they arrived on scene, they saw that there was one deceased male in a van," Sheriff Shaun Gough said. "We had the suspects' vehicle information, and we were desperately trying to find that vehicle."
Thanks to license plate recognition technology, Agular was quickly located in Elmore County, where he was taken into custody without resistance and transferred to Gooding County.
During Tuesday's arraignment, the court outlined the charges against Agular.
"Count one is murder in the first degree – has a maximum penalty of 10 years to life-or-death penalty," the court stated. "However, the state has filed a statement regarding the death penalty, and it is not their intent to file the notice at this time."
The second charge, discharging a firearm into a vehicle, is a felony in Idaho.
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This marks the second murder investigation for the Gooding County Sheriff's Office in many years, taking a toll on the department.
"Our guys are worn out," Gough said. "We've done several of these recently, and it's just... sad."
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Unlike the previous murder investigation, which occurred in a rural part of the county, this incident was witnessed by many people in a more populated area.
"Yeah, there is video from the pharmacy across the street, and this investigation is just getting started," Gough said. "We've got a ton of search warrants to do on cell phones and houses and cars, and hopefully we can get all that done by the prelim date."
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for December 30th.
Idaho News 6 will continue to follow this story.
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