Police have arrested a man in connection with the murder of a D.C. transgender woman who was killed in June.

Gerardo Thomas, 33, of Baltimore, has been arrested in the June 13 murder of 23-year-old Zoe Spears.

Spears was found unresponsive around 11:55 p.m. on a sidewalk in the 600 block of 59th Avenue in Fairmount Heights, located in Prince George's County along the border with D.C. According to police, she suffered from a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead on the scene.

{/sd-embed}

RELATED: Community-wide effort helps fund funeral for slain transgender woman Zoe Spears{/strong}

While conducting a crime scene canvass in the hours after the murder, detectives recovered surveillance video that captured the actual murder and the suspect’s van.

"We had one picture of a vehicle, a grainy black and white picture, and that's what we started with five weeks ago," said Major Brian Reilly.

From there, Reilly said detectives determined the vehicle was a silver Dodge Caravan. They then reached out to motor vehicle administrations in Virginia, Maryland, and the District, who located about 50,000 Dodge Caravans in the DMV.

"We were able to reduce that down to about 3,000 that fit the description involving that specific color Caravan," said Reilly.

Then, he says detectives asked for license plate reader printouts of any silver Dodge Caravans that showed up in the region. Eventually, investigators were able to identify one of those vehicles that showed up on a license plate reader approximately a half mile from the crime scene and just two hours prior to Spears' murder. Reilly says that's what ultimately led them to Thomas.

Right now the motive behind the killing remains unclear.

"In speaking to him, he didn't mention anything about her being a transgender female. He didn't mention anything about her sexual orientation or anything like that. He gave us no reason why he did what he did," said Reilly. "So at this point we don't have a motive. We're going to continue working on that."

Another transgender woman, 27-year-old Ashanti Carmon, was also shot and killed in Fairmount Heights, in March. The deaths of Carmon and Spears, just blocks apart in such a short time period, fueled fear among members of the LGBTQ community in the weeks following the murders.

Reilly said they Thomas is not currently a suspect in Carmon's murder. In fact, he says, detectives have found no connection between the two crimes.

"As I stand here now, I'm familiar with both cases, I've seen the evidence in both cases, and there is no link as of this moment between these two cases," he said.

Friends of the victims have said that Spears witnessed Carmon's murder when it happened in March. During a Thursday afternoon news conference, Reilly addressed that as well.

"At this point, we do not believe Spears' murder is due to her being a witness in Ashanti's murder," he said.

Carmon's murder remains unsolved. Detectives continue to ask anyone with information that could help the investigation to contact the Prince George's County Police Department.

"I pray for the moment when someone who knows something about what happened to Ashanti can come forward," said Ruby Corado.

Corado is a transgender advocate who was close to both victims and says she viewed Spears as a daughter.

"No one should have to die at 23-years-old," she said. "So knowing that this man is in jail, it gives me some sense of peace knowing that he cannot hurt someone else."

Corado also thanked detectives with the Prince George's County Police Department for their work on the case.

"Knowing this case was important to the Prince George's County Police Department, and that Zoe can get justice, it means that people who live in Prince George's County can feel confident that their lives matter," said Corado. "It does send a message that you can't hurt members of the LGBTQ community and get away with it."

As the LGBTQ community continues to grieve the deaths of Spears and Carmon, Corado hopes this is a first step toward healing.

"This is the beginning of knowing that justice can be given," she said. "That justice can come our way."

RELATED: Vigil honors two transgender women killed within weeks of each other{/strong}

{/sd-embed}