WORCESTER, Mass. - Dejan Belnavis, the man wanted in connection to the homicides of Chasity Nuñez and her 11-year-old daughter Zella, has been arrested in San Diego, California.

Interim Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier said authorities had been tracking Belnavis, 27, for a week using law enforcement technology.

He was apprehended at roughly 2:40 pm local time. While police are unsure why he was in Southern California or what his motives may have been, he will be extradited back to Massachusetts to face a murder charge.

“We knew we had to bring this to a successful conclusion, because this isn’t Worcester,” Saucier said. “This is not a violent city. We have our challenges as everyone does in a city, but besides that, the men and women of the Worcester Police Department are out there every day putting in 110 percent so we can live in a safe community.”

Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said co-defendant Karel Mangual, 28, will be back in court Tuesday, where his previous charges of armed assault to murder and carrying a firearm without a license will be upgraded to a murder charge.

During Mangual’s arraignment last week, prosecutors said surveillance video showed him and Belnavis shooting at a parked vehicle in the area of Lisbon Street and Englewood Avenue last Tuesday.

There were multiple bullet holes in the car’s windshield and driver side window. Nuñez and her daughter were later pronounced dead.

Following the incident, City Manager Eric Batista, Mayor Joseph Petty, Interim Chief Saucier and Worcester Public Schools Superintendent Rachel Monárrez released a joint statement on March 5:

“Today we mourn the senseless loss of two Worcester residents, a mother and daughter whose lives were taken far too soon and far too tragically. Collectively, we ask for patience and privacy on behalf of the victims’ family and friends and for the Worcester Public Schools who are grieving the loss of a student. An act of such violence has no place in our City. The residents of Worcester deserve better, and we will stand alongside our community in sorrow and solidarity. Our appreciation goes out to the members of the Worcester Police Department, the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, and to all first responders who assisted. Worcester is a resilient community, and we know that our residents will lovingly embrace the victims’ family and friends as we work toward healing from this traumatic event.”

It is unclear when Belnavis will be extradited back to Massachusetts.