A man accused of killing his common-law wife in front of her two children is now in police custody.
Roy Garcia, Jr., 35, surrendered to DPS troopers around 10:15 p.m. Saturday near San Antonio.
Garcia is suspected of killing Julia Martinez in Baytown on Saturday afternoon.
“I hope they burn him,” next-door neighbor Richard Vermeire said. “I mean, that’s ridiculous, you know. It is. I hope he never sees daylight again.”
Martinez and Garcia were arguing in front of their house when she got into an SUV with her teen daughter and 5-year-old son.
Garcia allegedly opened fire on the truck, hitting Martinez. Her daughter called 911, but the victim died before EMS could arrive.
Neighbors said they pulled the children, who were covered in blood, from the car.
“She was coming down the street here going in [a northern] direction,” neighbor Hubert Flores said. “He chased her down and shot her with her kids in the back of the vehicle.”
Harris County deputies said they’re waiting to extradite Garcia from the San Antonio area.
“The family he leaves behind is the one that suffers,” Vermeire said. “She lost her life and now he might be behind bars forever. It’s sad for kids that have to stay here and survive that. It’s tough.”
Investigators said Martinez filed papers just before Hurricane Harvey to remove Garcia from her home. The deadline was two weeks away.
Her husband was arrested last year for domestic violence. Martinez’s family said there were more incidents than that.
