The Point Loma High School (PLHS) community learned last week that a suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder of then-freshman student-athlete Michael Taylor nearly two years ago. Frederick Cruz, 22, already serving time in a California prison, was arrested by San Diego Police Department (SDPD) homicide investigators and transferred to San Diego to face new charges in the shooting deaths of Taylor and friend Monique Palmer in December 2008. Cruz pleaded not guilty in San Diego Superior Court during an arraignment Monday. He is being held without bail and is scheduled to return to court today for a status hearing. SDPD homicide Lt. Kevin Rooney declined to reveal how officers identified Cruz as the suspected gunman who shot and killed Taylor, 15, and Palmer, 17, as they walked home from a party in their southeast San Diego neighborhood. Gang members had shown up at the party and pointed guns at partygoers before the shootings. “We’re glad that they’ve found out who did kill Michael,” said Pointer head football coach Mike Hastings. Pointer players remember Taylor, who would have been a junior this season, with an “MT” decal on their helmets. Taylor was a successful student and outstanding athlete with great potential as a football and basketball player, Hastings said. “This will help bring closure to us in the football program and also to his family,” Hastings said. “Now we can start to move forward, always keeping him in our hearts.” PLHS students have remembered Taylor in many ways, including inviting his mother, Denise Saunders, to school events. At a Homecoming ceremony, Saunders was presented a bouquet of flowers.