Suspect arrested in murder of Sylmar veteran Francisco Garcia
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A suspect has been arrested in the murder of Sylmar Army veteran Francisco Garcia.
Vincent Estrada, 18, of Sylmar, was arrested on Tuesday. He was booked for murder and held on $1 million bail at the Van Nuys jail.
"I'm glad they caught them. That person should be punished to the fullest," Garcia's uncle Benny Dorado said.
Garcia, 21, was fatally shot Sunday, Nov. 9, after a dispute broke out during a party near his girlfriend's home near Dronfield Avenue and Astoria Street around 2 a.m.
According to LAPD, the suspect got out of a vehicle and began yelling at Garcia. That's when the suspect allegedly grabbed a gun from another waiting vehicle and shot Garcia. The relationship between the two men remains unclear.
Police officers stopped Estrada as he was driving with his parents in Sylmar Tuesday afternoon. He was initially detained as a person of interest in the murder.
His family said Garcia, known to his friends as "Frankie," had plans to become a California Highway Patrol officer. CHP officials told Eyewitness News that Garcia had started the application process to attend the CHP Academy.
The LAPD initially told Eyewitness News that a close friend of Garcia's said he had been deployed to Afghanistan. However, the U.S. Army confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that Garcia was never deployed to Afghanistan.
