Robert Garcia (Hays County Jail)
SAN MARCOS, Texas - A homeless man is accused of killing a relative inside a San Marcos home on Monday.
37-year-old Robert Ray Garcia has been charged with first-degree murder and criminal trespass habitation/shelter/superfund site/infrastructure, according to county court records.
What happened in San Marcos on Sept. 21?
What we know:
The San Marcos Police Department initially reported this as an "incident" in the 600 block of CM Allen Parkway off Lee Street across from Ramon Lucio Park.
SMPD had a "large police presence" and was asking the public to avoid the area.
At around 8:35 p.m., police updated that they were working a homicide and that a person of interest had been detained.
The following morning, at 9:15 a.m., police announced Garcia's arrest and said that they had found a 61-year-old woman dead inside a home with signs of trauma at around 5:40 p.m.
Police say Garcia is related to the victim and was identified as a suspect during the investigation.
What we don't know:
Law enforcement has not provided or hinted at a motive in this homicide or shared details of the investigation that led to Garcia's arrest.
Garcia's history with law enforcement
Dig deeper:
According to online court records, Garcia has an extensive history with Hays County law enforcement, going back to at least 2008.
Many of the charges involve criminal trespass, especially in the last two years, as well as possession of marijuana, possession of controlled substances, burglary, criminal mischief and even a dismissed arson charge from 2018.
A good number of the charges are listed as dismissed or DA declined.
His last run-in with the San Marcos Police Department was in February, where he was convicted of misdemeanor criminal trespass and was sentenced to nearly 90 days in the county jail.
What's next:
Garcia was booked into the Hays County Jail on Sept. 22 and is still there as of 12:15 p.m.
Bond has been set at a collective $410,000.
No court date has been set yet and the investigation remains ongoing, according to SMPD.
The Source: Information in this report comes from Sept. 21/Sept. 22 posts by San Marcos Emergency Services and Hays County court records.