By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

The United States Marshals have arrested 19-year-old Demarcus Lamar Means on a murder charge in connection with the death of Haleigh Green.

Shelby County Sheriff John Samaniego received confirmation on July 21 around noon that U.S. Marshals had taken Means into custody in Los Angeles, according to a Shelby County Sheriff’s Office press release.

The SCSO, with the assistance of the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, obtained a murder warrant on July 14 for Means related to Green’s death. Since then, multiple agencies have been engaged in an active manhunt for Means.

The bond for Means’ charge was set at $500,000.

“I am also appreciative of the crime tips shared through Crime Stoppers and Facebook,” Samaniego wrote in the July 21 release. “This is still an active case and we recognize that there is a long road ahead in the judicial process of this case. I ask that our community continue to lift up the Green and Bivins families during this time as our investigators continue to process the evidence in this case.”

Preliminary reports from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences indicate the body investigators discovered near Green’s car in unincorporated Shelby County on July 11 was Green based on dental records, and that she was shot, SCSO Lt. Clay Hammac said on July 17.

“The Alabama Department of Forensics did release a tentative I.D. of the victim indicating the victim is indeed Haleigh Green,” Hammac said. “That I.D. is tentative at this time and will not be confirmed by the ADFS until they have developed a DNA profile, which is standard procedure in cases like this. They also indicated that a contributing cause of death is gunshot wound.”

Green was reported missing after she failed to show up for her classes at Lawson State Community College on July 6 and 7.

SCSO investigators discovered Green’s 2003 red Ford Mustang in a wooded area near Shelby County 315 on the morning of July 11.

Within the immediate area of Green’s Mustang, investigators located a deceased body after an “extensive” search, according to Samaniego.