By Jorge Casuso

April 2, 2019 -- A man wanted for a Kansas murder two years ago was arrested by Santa Monica Police last month after they approached him for violating the city's smoking ban.

Ty Bohlander -- who was wanted for the April 30, 2017 murder of James McFarland in Cherokee County, Kansas -- was approached by Santa Monica Police officers patrolling the Downtown shortly before 4 p.m. on March 20.

They spotted Bohlander, 23, sitting on a bus bench on the 200 block of Santa Monica Boulevard smoking a cigarette in violation of a local ordinance that bans smoking in any outdoor service area, police said. "Officers made contact with the subject for the violation," said Lt. Saul Rodriguez, the Police Department spokesman. "The subject provided several false names and identifiable information before providing his true identity.

"Officers conducted a wants and warrants check which revealed he was a wanted felon for a homicide in Cherokee County, Kansas with full extradition," Rodriguez said.

Bohlander -- who fled Kansas with his mother, Diana Bohlander, -- was taken into custody and transported to SMPD Jail for booking, Rodriguez said.

The Cherokee County Sheriff believes Diana Bohlander, who was romantically involved with the victim, is still at large in the Santa Monica area, according to an article Tuesday in the Cherokee County News-Advocate.

It is not known how long Ty Bohlander was in Santa Monica before his arrest, police said.

The suspects, who are believed to be homeless, fled Kansas after they were charged with first degree murder in the death of McFarland, a 64-year-old homeless man from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

McFarland's body was found on the side of a rural Cherokee County road near the Missouri-Oklahoma border, according to local authorities.

The cause of death has not been released.

The suspects fled Kansas in a green 1994 Chevrolet Camaro with an Oklahoma license plate.

Authorities believe they drove through Aurora, Colorado; Cheyenne, Wyoming, and ended up in Southern California, according to media reports.

“Our detectives have been working closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Marshal’s Office, among other law enforcement partners, in an effort to locate and apprehend the suspects,” Cherokee County Sheriff David Groves said in a press release.

The arrest of Bohlander by Santa Monica police made headlines across the Great Plains.

He is scheduled to appear in a Southern California court on April 9, according to the News-Advocate.