Kevin Merlos-Saravia, 23, was fatally shot in the early morning hours of May 26, 2024, at the Woodland Estates Apartments on Winged Elm Court in east Charlotte. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call and found Merlos-Saravia deceased at the scene. Reports say Merlos-Saravia and 42-year-old Jose Francisco Ulloa-Martinez were involved in a physical altercation during which Ulloa-Martinez allegedly shot him; Ulloa-Martinez fled afterward.

Ulloa-Martinez was located and arrested in Houston on June 3, 2024, by Houston Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. CMPD detectives interviewed him in Houston and charged him with first-degree murder; he was awaiting extradition to Mecklenburg County. Merlos-Saravia was originally from El Salvador, where his mother and son were awaiting the return of his body. The investigation remains active and authorities are seeking information.

If anyone has information about what happened at Woodland Estates that morning, please contact CMPD’s Homicide Unit or Crime Stoppers.