Sep 27, 2024
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- A man accused of fatally shooting a security guard outside McMurphy's Irish Pub has been ordered to stand trial on a charge of first-degree murder. Jorge Esteban Garcia, 25, is due back in court Oct. 7 after a judge this week ruled there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed. BPD seeks help identifying Dos Tacos robbery suspect Garcia's girlfriend, Desiree Sanchez, was also ordered to stand trial. She's charged with being an accessory after the fact; investigators say she lied to provide an alibi for Garcia. Garcia is accused of killing Joseph Anthony Reynaga early Jan. 28. According to police reports, he believed a family member had been sexually assaulted by Reynaga two days earlier. 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, the reports say. 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. The shooter had the same hairstyle and complexion as Garcia. Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage Police went to Sanchez’s apartment and asked where her boyfriend was at the time of the shooting. They also asked about the BMW. Sanchez told police Garcia had spent the night with her. The car, she said, had been sold; she said she hadn’t seen Garcia drive it for a month or two. Police seized Sanchez's cellphone and found a possible motive. A text conversation between Sanchez and another person indicated a family member of Garcia may have been sexually assaulted after going to McMurphy’s and then a house party on Jan. 26, according to the documents. Video footage taken from McMurphy’s that night showed the family member socializing with Reynaga, the reports say.
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