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UPDATE: Lake Forest 19-year-old Matthew Thomas Dragna will be arraigned in Santa Ana at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the Oct. 23 murder of longtime Hotel Laguna catering manager Damon L. Nicholson, who is believed to be Laguna Beach's first homicide victim since 2002.

Courtesy of Laguna Beach Police Department

Matthew Thomas Dragna

​Dragna, who is being held on $1 million bail, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison if convicted, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office.

Laguna Beach police investigators served simultaneous search warrants Wednesday evening at Dragna's home and a Santa Ana rehabilitation center, where the suspect was taken into custody, Lt. Jason Kravetz announced earlier today.

Dragna is accused of having entered Nicholson's home in the early morning hours of Oct. 23, bludgeoning him to death and fleeing with several stolen items.

Salvador Hernandez reports in the Orange County Register that Dragna, who has a history of drug use and burglary arrests, established a relationship with Nicholson on the Internet before the Laguna Beach man was beaten to death.

When Nicholson did not show up for work at the Hotel Laguna on Oct. 23, a co-worker went to the 41-year-old's duplex in the 200 block of Dolphin Way. When no one answered the door, the co-worker entered through a sliding glass door and discovered the body sprawled across a couch.

Police said at the time that Nicholson, who lived alone, was hit several times in his torso and head with a heavy object, and that no murder weapon was found at the home.

Today, Kravetz said some of the stolen property has been recovered, but investigators are still searching for a Macintosh laptop computer. Anyone who recently purchased a laptop from Dragna in person, or via the internet, is asked to call the investigations division at (949) 497-0371.

Hotel Laguna's owner Claes Andersen previously offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the killer of his catering manager of 15 years.