A fifth suspect is in custody in connection with a homicide on Sunset Boulevard. (photo by Edwin Folven)

A 24-year-old male suspect from Los Angeles was arrested on Jan. 27 and booked for the Nov. 23 murder of a man outside a restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.

The suspect, Marquis Ford, was taken into custody at an undisclosed location in South Los Angeles and is being held on $2.1 million bail, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department booking records. He is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 18.

Ford was the fifth suspect arrested in connection with the murder on Nov. 23 outside the Bossa Nova restaurant in the 7100 block of Sunset Boulevard. Police said the victim, Jose Ruiz Gutierrez, 23, and his girlfriend stopped around 2 a.m. to pick up food at the restaurant.

The unidentified woman went inside and was returning to the car when several men approached and attempted to rob her. Gutierrez, who was sitting in his parked car and was also armed with a handgun, got out and tried to intervene, police said. He was shot and killed by one of the suspects. The female victim was not injured.

The other suspects who were arrested on Dec. 21 were identified as Jayon Sanders, 21, Abraham Castillo, 20, Tyree Singleton, 20, and Joshua Saulsberry, 21. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has charged Sanders, Castillo and Singleton with murder, robbery and attempted robbery. They remain in custody on more than $2 million bail and are scheduled to appear in court on Feb 18. Saulsberry was charged with one count of robbery and has been released on bail, according to the sheriff’s department booking records.

The arrests on Dec. 21 were made at undisclosed locations in Los Angeles and Fontana by the LAPD’s Follow-Home Task Force, which is led by detectives with the Robbery-Homicide Division. No details were provided about how the suspects were tied to the homicide, including whether they followed the victims to the restaurant. The suspects have not been linked to other robberies.

Police searched the suspects’ residences and recovered a handgun, replica handgun, more than $30,000 in cash, handbags, a Rolex watch, gang paraphernalia and two vehicles allegedly used during the robbery and murder. Anyone with information about the homicide or any other crimes possibly related to the suspects is urged to call Robbery Homicide Division detectives at (213)486-6860. During weekends and off-hours, call the LAPD’s hotline at (877)LAPD247.