Reports reveal possible motive in killing of McMurphy’s security guard
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Text messages obtained during the investigation into the slaying of a security guard outside McMurphy’s Irish Pub revealed a possible motive: the shooter believed the guard had sexually assaulted a family member days earlier.
Court documents that became available this week say police suspect Jorge Esteban Garcia killed Joseph Anthony Reynaga early Jan. 28 outside McMurphy’s Irish Pub as revenge for the possible assault.
Fatal attack occurred over purported disparaging remarks: report
Garcia, 24, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. His girlfriend, Desiree Sanchez, is charged as an accessory after the fact; investigators say she lied to provide Garcia with an alibi.
The couple have a preliminary hearing scheduled for mid-March.
According to the documents, there was a large crowd outside the bar at 14 Monterey St. when the shooting occurred at 2:22 a.m.
Surveillance video captured Reynaga walking toward the bar from a parking lot just south of the establishment when the shooter approached. Dressed all in black, the gunman fired multiple times, according to witnesses. Video captured what appeared to be a muzzle flash.
The shooter ran to a black BMW sedan and sped away, according to the documents. Reynaga was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A records check on the sedan revealed it was registered to Garcia. Surveillance footage showed it arrive near the bar at 1:40 a.m., the reports say, and the shooter had the same hairstyle and complexion as Garcia.
Police went to Sanchez’s apartment and questioned her about her boyfriend’s whereabouts the night before. They also asked about the BMW.
Sanchez told police Garcia had spent the night with her. The car, she said, had been sold; she hadn’t seen Garcia drive it for a month or two.
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Police accused her of lying. They told her the pink slip for the vehicle was found in her apartment, and warned her she could face an accessory charge if she wasn’t honest with them.
Sanchez stuck to her story, according to the documents.
More helpful to the investigation was information obtained from a download of Sanchez’s cellphone.
A text conversation between Sanchez and another person indicated a family member of Garcia may have been sexually assaulted after going to McMurphy’s then a house party on Jan. 26, according to the documents. Video footage taken from McMurphy’s on the night in question showed the family member was there, and she and Reynaga were socializing, the reports say.
“Based on other evidence found on Sanchez’s phone and what video shows, it is likely Jorge Garcia believed (Reynaga) assaulted (family member) in some way and killed (Reynaga) because of it,” the reports say.
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