Erik Eduardo Navarro, 26, is back in California custody after two months on the run.
The Orange County man was arrested in Oklahoma on unrelated traffic charges before investigators connected him to the near-fatal beating of a 71-year-old grandmother in her Crestline home. Detectives flew to Oklahoma on Tuesday and took custody of Navarro following his extradition, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.
“Working in coordination with the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, detectives obtained an extradition warrant,” the department said in a statement.
Navarro had allegedly been staying with Therese Garcia, a grandmother who opened her home to him earlier this year after he told her he needed shelter before a job interview. Garcia, 71, cooked for him nightly and grew to see him as a “sweet kid” facing hard times, according to her family.
His behavior shifted quickly. Family members said Navarro began “making demands and taking over her home.” When Garcia told him to leave on Aug. 25, the situation turned violent.
Navarro allegedly obtained a metal baseball bat and attacked Garcia while she slept. Her daughter, Abbie Garcia, said that the assault was relentless.
“He just kept beating her until he finally thought she was dead,” she said.
The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department detailed Garcia’s injuries: a laceration to her forehead, a cut eyebrow, swollen hands, and a swollen orbital area that left her unable to see clearly. She also spent days vomiting blood from the attack, family members said.
After the beating, Navarro allegedly took her credit cards, keys, phone, and e-bike before fleeing. Family members launched a GoFundMe to cover medical expenses and said Garcia had been near death.
“My mom didn’t deserve this,” Abbie Garcia said. “She was simply trying to help someone she believed was in need, something she has always done throughout her life. This time, her kindness was met with unimaginable violence.”
Navarro now faces multiple charges including Battery with Serious Injury, Elder Abuse Likely to Produce Great Bodily Injury or Death, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Robbery, and Damaging a Wireless Communication Device to Prevent Help. He is being held at the West Valley Detention Center on $250,000 bail, with a court date set for Friday according to jail records.
The case began with an act of generosity that Garcia’s family said was characteristic of her nature. A stranger with a sob story found shelter in her Crestline home, only to allegedly exploit that kindness in the most violent way possible.
