Apr. 11—The Yuba County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday that 39-year-old Ricky Lasher was taken into custody for his alleged involvement in the 2023 death of 27-year-old Amery Sweany.

Sweany, who was from Chico, was found dead on April 27, 2023, in an orchard near the 1700 block of Simpson Lane after a call was received just after 2:30 p.m. regarding a dead body, officials previously said. The caller, described as “a passerby,” called 911 after they said they saw Sweany lying on the side of the road.

Officials previously said that an investigation determined that Sweany was “fairly new” to the Yuba-Sutter area. After an autopsy was conducted, authorities said they believed her cause of death was a result of blunt force trauma after possibly being struck by a vehicle, the Appeal previously reported.

“Evidence located at the scene supported these findings,” officials said days after the 2023 incident.

At about 8 p.m. on Wednesday, detectives served an arrest warrant in the 1400 block of Jamie Drive in Yuba City and arrested Lasher for the alleged murder of Sweany, officials said. He was booked into Yuba County Jail.

Officials said the investigation into Sweany’s death is still ongoing. Anyone with information related to the incident can contact the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department at 530-749-7777.