The murder weapon used to kill a Pacific Beach woman on Sept. 13 was found in the possession of a man on the run in Texas and he is awaiting extradition to San Diego.
Felipe Villegas, 27, is accused of murder in San Diego Superior Court where he has been charged with killing Mary Lou Garcia, 65, who was shot in the head near 700 Reed Avenue on the beach.
Initially, Garcia’s son, Daniel Caldera, 27, was arrested and charged with her slaying, but the District Attorney’s office dismissed the charge and released him from jail five days later. Police later said he was no longer a suspect when they announced the arrest of Villegas on Oct. 14.
A witness told police a man in tan pants shot Garcia. Officers arrested Caldera hours later and he was wearing tan pants that had a red stain on them that an officer thought was blood. The stain was tested and it turned out not to be blood at all, according to court documents.
Villegas lived in Pacific Beach at the time but fled the area after the shooting. His cellphone placed him near the scene of the homicide and a witness identified him from a video surveillance image, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Villegas was arrested in Monahans, Texas on Sept. 16 after allegedly stealing a Ford F-250 at a gas station. Someone shot him in the upper chest as he was fleeing in the vehicle and he crashed. The murder weapon in Garcia’s slaying was found in the vehicle.
Villegas is also accused of robbing a woman at a hotel in Pecos, Texas, and firing a shot at her. She wasn’t hit, and he fled, according to court documents.
The firearm was registered to Villegas and it matched the empty gun case left behind in his bedroom in Pacific Beach, which had been found during a search by police after they obtained a warrant from a judge.
Villegas’ girlfriend told detectives she had seen Villegas with a firearm the day after the shooting and he had told her he was going to Alabama to visit family.
Officers also seized a pair of tan pants, black shoes with sand inside them, cartridge casings, and other clothing from Villegas’ apartment in the 2000 block of Garnet Avenue, according to the affidavit.
Villegas remains in the Reeves County Detention Facility in Pecos, Texas without bail.
