A mechanic who fled the country after killing a man he thought was a thief has been sentenced to 35 years in prison, the district attorney said.

PASADENA, Texas The man was sentenced to 35 years in prison after he reportedly killed a man he thought was a thief in 2018, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.

In a press release, officials say the owner of a transmission repair shop in Houston, 35-year-old Oscar Aristides Garcia, was sentenced late Wednesday night by Judge Mark Brown.

Garcia reportedly pleaded guilty to the murder in October 2022 and agreed to be sentenced by a judge. Prosecutors demanded that Garcia be sentenced to 50 years in prison. Garcia’s defense team argued for 15 years.

According to the post, Garcia was at his transmission shop in Pasadena on October 28, 2018. He reportedly saw the victim, 37-year-old Nicholas Bautista, passing by with his girlfriend. The two were going to Sunday brunch. However, Garcia mistakenly believed that Batista was shoplifting the rear doors of the pickup truck.

Garcia then got into the truck he was working on and took his gun to confront the couple about the thefts.

The couple noticed that the restaurant next to Garcia’s store was closed, so they caught an Uber to another restaurant, with Garcia following them.

They ate and then took another Uber home with Garcia continuing to follow them.

As soon as they arrived at their Pasadena home on Wafer Street, Garcia got out of the truck and began arguing with Bautista in Spanish. Bautista didn’t speak Spanish and his girlfriend told Garcia he was wrong, the report said. As Batista turned and left to call the police, Garcia shot him in the back, killing him.

Garcia then pointed his gun at Bautista’s girlfriend and pulled the trigger, but no shot was fired.

Garcia attempted to clean up the scene by picking up shell casings before running to another mechanic’s shop and demanding that the truck be left in their garage.

He then reportedly returned to his store and destroyed all video evidence of the shooting. He is also reported to have broken into the local taqueria and destroyed the recording device of a surveillance camera that showed him following Bautista.

Garcia then closed the store and left for his native El Salvador, leaving behind a pregnant wife and three children. Later he sent for them, and they joined him for a time.

Over two years later, Garcia returned to the United States and was arrested by US marshals.

ADA harassment of Ryan Volkmer at the Pasadena Police Department for never giving up.

“The Pasadena PD worked really hard to track down this guy and then track him overseas,” Volkmer said. “They interviewed a lot of people, they did a lot of surveillance, and they just kept going.”

Volkmer also said that Bautista’s friend and family’s testimony about his loss was heartbreaking.

“He was a beloved son, a beloved brother and a beloved boyfriend,” Volkmer said. “He worked hard and is remembered very fondly and they are happy that they finally got justice.”