Son who shared name with father now charged in dad's murder

SAN ANTONIO – Police arrested 19-year-old Jose Fernando Garcia on Saturday and charged him in the murder of his father, whom he shared a name with.

Garcia's father, who is also named Jose Fernando Garcia, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in his home on July 20.

READ THE INITIAL REPORT: Victim killed in shooting inside NE Side home identified 

According to an affidavit, the elder Garcia's wife told police she saw a black shadow leaving the home and that her husband was shot in some sort of home invasion. 

Court documents said when police arrived at the Garcia family's home the night of the shooting, they found the elder Garcia's wife applying pressure to the gunshot wound. 

The only other person reportedly inside the home at the time of the shooting was the slain Garcia's 14-year-old daughter who said she didn't see anything.

RELATED: Drugs, thousands in cash found during homicide investigation on NE Side 

The elder Garcia's wife told police that the junior Garcia and his step-brother left the house immediately after the shooting to look for the gunman and that Garcia's step-brother was "mentally slow."

According to court documents, police found the step-brother's version of events the most credible.

On Nov. 4, investigators interviewed the step-brother who said the younger Garcia shot his dad.

The step-brother said he heard the younger Garcia and his step dad arguing about money in the kitchen and that he stepped outside to get away from the noise.

The step-brother said he was talking on his cell phone when he heard a gunshot in his house. He told police the younger Garcia ran out of the house and got into a car and that he also got into the passengers side of the car because he didn't know what was going on.

After he got into the the car, he said Garcia told him "I just shot dad."

The step-brother said Garcia instructed him to put the gun in the glove compartment and drove to an unknown apartment complex to get rid of the gun.

Since the shooting, the step-brother said his mother and Garcia repeatedly told him to not talk to police because "he will be considered just as much to blame" as Garcia.

The step-brother said his mother also told him police would never believe him because he is "slow." He said that while he has had a speech impediment, he is not slow and knows right from wrong.


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