A teenager was arrested by police Tuesday night in connection with the shooting death of Army veteran Francisco Garcia in Sylmar.
Vincent Estrada, of Sylmar, was detained earlier in the day as he was driving with his parents in Sylmar, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department.
The 18-year-old was booked on suspicion of murder and was being held at the Van Nuys Jail on $1 million bail, according to Lt. Paul Vernon with LAPD’s Mission Division.
Francisco Garcia was outside his girlfriend’s Sylmar home early Sunday morning when a Hispanic man exited a dark SUV, smashed a beer bottle on the ground, yelled at the veteran, then retrieved a handgun from a white car parked behind the SUV, according to police.
The man then shot Garcia multiple times. He died at the scene.
“It appears Francisco was the target of the attack,” Vernon said. “Apparently, a simmering dispute had boiled over during the night, and this suspect came looking for Francisco.”
Police were investigating whether the veteran was part of a “tagger crew” and might have been shot as a result of a dispute among differing groups.
