VICTIM IDENTIFIED, SUSPECT CAPTURED IN MAIN STREET KILLING

By Miriam Raftery

Photo,left by Della Elliott:  A shrine to commemorate 21-year-old shooting victim Fabian Cerda has been created by community members at the site where he was fatally shot. 

May 24, 2020 (El Cajon) – El Cajon Police today announced the arrest of George Louis Garcia, 42, following a tense standoff in La Mesa with police from multiple law enforcement agencies. Garcia is charged in the shooting death of Fabian Esteban Cerda, 21, on August 18 in El Cajon.

According to Lt. K. MacArthur with El Cajon Police, Cerda became involved in an argument with Garcia, the former boyfriend of Cerda’s mother around 1:30 a.m. on August 18 in front of 1548 East Main Street in El Cajon. “He was shot several times and later died as a result of the shooting,” Lt. MacArthur says. The victim succumbed to his injuries in an ambulance en route to a hospital.  

The suspect fled the scene. Investigators identified Garcia, who is on parole, as the suspect. 

Today at 10:15 a.m., members of the San Diego Regional Fugitive Task Force and El Cajon Police Dept. observed Garcia in a vehicle in the parking lot of a hotel in La Mesa. La Mesa Police conducted a felony stop but Garcia was “initially uncooperative and noncompliant,” Lt. MacArthur indicates.

The La Mesa Police Special Response Team and El Cajon Police Crisis Negotiations team arrived to assist.

“Negotiators were able to de-escalate the situation and Garcia surrendered two guns out of the car. It is unknown at this time if either weapon was used in the homicide. After further negotiations, Garcia agreed to surrender,” .t MacArthur states. “La Mesa Police Special Response Team took Garcia into custody without further incident. Garcia was arrested for homicide.”

. Anyone with information about this incident should contact the El Cajon Police Department at (619)579-3311 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or www.sdcrimestoppers.org .