Kia owner stabs accused car thief to death after spotting his stolen car, TX cops say

A Texas man is accused of murder after a personal search for his stolen car ended in a fatal confrontation, police told news outlets.

According to Austin police, 34-year-old Alex Trevino Garcia was searching for his stolen Kia on July 24, several days after it was taken, when he spotted it on the city’s south side, KXAN reported. A woman was with him and she dialed 911 as they followed the car to a nearby apartment complex, police said.

A short time later, the caller said a man had just been stabbed, police told the outlet.

McClatchy News reached out to an attorney listed for Garcia but didn’t immediately hear back.

The woman riding with Garcia was his girlfriend, and they’d been hunting for their Kia Forte ever since it was stolen earlier in the week , KEYE reported, citing a police affidavit.

There were several people in the Kia, one of whom told police they had driven to the complex to buy drugs — unaware they were followed, KXAN reported. The dealer wasn’t there or didn’t show, so she walked back to the car and got in when a man, Garcia, suddenly approached with a knife in his hand, she told investigators.

Garcia confronted the driver, 23-year-old Javier Antonio Navarro Quesada — the man Garcia says stole the car, police told KTBC. A witness who knew Quesada said the car was stolen and that he’d taken it from a gas station , police said.

Witnesses who were in the car say Garcia reached inside through a window, causing a struggle, then was seen making a “punching motion” at Quesada with his knife hand, KEYE reported. A bloody knife with a 4-inch blade was found at the scene, police said.

Garcia is accused of stabbing Quesada to death, KTBC reported, though Garcia said he killed him in self-defense.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. He attacked me,” the station said he told arriving officers. “He stole my car, and he attacked me.”

A charge of murder was filed against Garcia on July 26, court records show. His bond was set at $50,000.

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