PASADENA, Texas – A man has been sentenced to 35 years after he reportedly killed a man who he mistook for a thief back in 2018, according to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.
In a news release, officials say the Houston transmission repair shop owner, 35-year-old Oscar Aristides Garcia, was sentenced late Wednesday by Judge Marc Brown.
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Garcia was said to have pled guilty to murder in Oct. 2022 and agreed to be sentenced by the judge. Prosecutors asked that Garcia be sentenced to 50 years in prison. Garcia’s defense team argued for 15 years.
According to the release, Garcia was at his transmission shop in Pasadena on Oct. 28, 2018. He reportedly saw the victim, 37-year-old Nicolas Bautista, walk by with his girlfriend. The two were on their way to grab Sunday brunch. However, Garcia mistakenly believed Bautista was stealing pickup tailgates from the shop.
Garcia then got inside a truck he had been working on and his shotgun and went to confront the pair to about the thefts.
The couple noticed the restaurant near Garcia’s shop was closed, so they caught an Uber to another restaurant, with Garcia following them.
They ate, and then took another Uber home, and Garcia continued to follow them.
Once they arrived at their Pasadena home on Wafer Street, Garcia got out of the truck and started to argue with Bautista in Spanish. Bautista did not speak Spanish, and his girlfriend told Garcia that he was mistaken, the release states. When Bautista turned around and walked away to call the police, Garcia shot him in the back, killing him.
Garcia then leveled the gun at Bautista’s girlfriend and pulled the trigger, but it did not fire.
Garcia attempted to clean the scene by picking up the shell casings before he ran to another mechanic’s shop and demanded to store the truck inside their garage.
He was said to have then went back to his own shop and destroyed all video evidence of the shooting. He also reportedly broke into the neighborhood taqueria and destroyed its security camera’s recording device, which showed him following Bautista.
Garcia then closed the shop and left for his native El Salvador, leaving behind his pregnant wife and three children. He later sent for them, and they joined him there for a time.
More than two years later, Garcia returned to the United States and was arrested by U.S. marshals.
Prosecuting ADA Ryan Volkmer the Pasadena Police Department for never giving up.
“Pasadena PD worked really hard tracking this guy down, then tracking him overseas,” Volkmer said. “They interviewed a lot of people, they did a lot of surveillance, and they just kept at it.”
Volkmer also said Bautista’s friend’s and family’s testimonies about losing him were heartbreaking.
“He was a loved son, a loved brother, and a loved boyfriend,” Volkmer said. “He worked hard and is remembered very fondly, and they’re glad they finally got justice.”