HOUSTON — After two years on the run in Central America, a 35-year-old man who owned a repair shop in Houston was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Oscar Aristides Garcia pleaded guilty to murder in October. He shot and killed a man who he believed was stealing from his shop. Prosecutors were asking for Garcia's sentence to be 50 years while his defense team argued for 15 years.
The murder
On Oct. 28, 2018, Garcia saw Nicolas Bautista, 37, and his girlfriend walk by his shop. The couple was going to get food at a nearby restaurant. Garcia mistakenly identified Bautista as the person he thought was stealing tailgates off trucks at his shop.
Garcia grabbed a shotgun and jumped into a truck that he had been working on at the shop. He followed the couple to the restaurant, which was closed. Bautista and his girlfriend got in an Uber and went to another restaurant all while unknowingly being followed by Garcia. After they finished eating, they took another Uber to their home on Wafer Street. That's when Garcia decided to confront Bautista.
Garcia got out of the truck and started arguing with Bautista in Spanish. But Bautista didn't speak Spanish and his girlfriend told Garcia that he was mistaken. As Bautista turned to walk away, Garcia shot him in the back. He then turned and pointed the gun at Bautista's girlfriend and pulled the trigger but the gun didn't fire.
Covering his tracks
He picked up the shell casing and left the scene. He drove to another shop and demanded to leave the truck inside that mechanic's garage. He then went back to his shop and destroyed the security camera recording device so there wouldn't be evidence of Bautista walking by the shop. He also broke into the nearby restaurant and destroyed its security camera recording device since that video showed him following the couple.
Garcia then closed his shop and left for El Salvador. He left his pregnant wife and three children behind. After more than two years, he returned to the United States and was arrested by U.S. marshals.
“A man who intentionally kills an innocent stranger and then does everything he can to cover up his crime and run from accountability deserves to spend decades in prison for the pain he caused,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.
Solving the case
Prosecutors said the Pasadena Police Department's relentlessness is what solved the case.
“Pasadena PD worked really hard tracking this guy down, then tracking him overseas,” Assistant District Attorney Ryan Volkmer said. “They interviewed a lot of people, they did a lot of surveillance, and they just kept at it.”
Bautista's family and friends testified during the trial. They said losing him was devastating.
“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.”
