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Felon Arrested In San Pedro Killing Of 17-Year-Old Mother

SAN PEDRO (CBSLA) – A 25-year-old Wilmington man and convicted felon has been arrested in the shooting death of a 17-year-old girl last month in San Pedro.

Luis Aurelio Morales was taken into custody Monday on one count of murder in the killing of Kayla Yolanda Huerta, Los Angeles police report.

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Undated photos of Seventeen-year-old Kayla Yolanda Huerta and her 3-year-old daughter. Huerta was shot and killed in San Pedro, Calif., on June 18, 2018. (CBS2)

In the early morning hours of June 18, Huerta was shot and killed in the 700 block of Sepulveda Street. According to police, Morales got upset by something that was said and opened fire, wounding Huerta. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

It's unclear what led detectives to Morales. According to the Daily Breeze newspaper, Morales has multiple convictions dating back to 2010 for battery on a peace officer, resisting arrest, brandishing a weapon, domestic violence and other charges.

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At the scene of a shooting in San Pedro, Calif., on June 18, 2018, which left a 17-year-old girl dead. (CBS2)

Huerta leaves behind three-year-old daughter. Her family told CBS2 she had dreams of going back to school and making a better life.

"She wanted to show her daughter better in life," her grandmother Yolanda Gonzales said. "She goes, 'I'm going to go to school and I'm going to accomplish something.'"

A GoFundMe page was set up to raise money for the funeral and to help Huerta's 3-year-old daughter.

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