A U.S. Bureau of Prisons employee who shot two men outside a Van Nuys bar was arrested after he attempted to flee to Mexico, police said Friday.
Marco Antonio Garcia, 31, is believed to have immediately left the United States following the Sept. 10 shooting at Carlitos Way cocktail lounge in the 15200 block of Victory Boulevard, which left one man dead and another injured, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department.
The victims have yet to be identified, but officers previously said both were in their 30s.
Garcia was originally apprehended by Mexican officials who then deported him and transferred him to the custody LAPD. Local district attorney’s officials plan to file homicide charges against him, police said.
Police believe Garcia is from Long Beach and said he was employed with the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons, but did not provide details on his position.
During their investigation officials learned the 31-year-old showed up at the bar with another man a while before the victim arrived.
It’s still unclear what led up to the violence, and bar patrons and staff who witnessed the incident told police Garcia did not speak with the victims before as many as 15 gunshots rang out in front of the bar around 11:20 p.m.
Both Garcia and the friend he came with fled the scene, though the associate was arrested shortly after. That man’s identity also has not been publicly released.
Detectives have not determined a motive and are continuing to investigate the case.
