A homeless man has died after he was brutally beaten, bashed with rocks and intentionally set on fire in Central El Paso, a police spokesperson said.
The death of 46-year-old Salome J. Lares — who had burns on 40% of his body — is now being investigated as a murder case, El Paso Police Department spokesperson Detective Judy Oviedo said on Wednesday, April 1.
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David Garcia, 33, is accused of “intentionally igniting” Lares on fire, who burned for about 10 minutes, before Garcia allegedly returned to repeatedly hit him with rocks, including dropping a large rock (about 10-by-10 inches in size) on his head, according to a criminal complaint affidavit filed by an El Paso police detective obtained by the El Paso Times.
Garcia and Lares were identified by police as being “general delivery,” which is used to refer to unhoused persons.
Investigators obtained video that recorded the deadly assault, which occurred about 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, the affidavit stated. The critically injured man was found more than two hours later following a building fire.
After being arrested on Sunday, March 29, on a warrant on an unrelated drug paraphernalia case, Garcia allegedly told detectives in a video-recorded interview that Lares “had disrespected him and the area by some of his actions” and that he assaulted and set Lares on fire because of the disrespect, the affidavit stated. The supposed disrespect is not detailed further in the affidavit.
Detectives booked Garcia on an aggravated assault charge, which will likely now be upgraded to a murder charge following Lares’ death.
Garcia is jailed under a $500,000 bond at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown. He is being represented by a public defense attorney not named in court records.
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EPFD firefighters found Lares critically wounded after extinguishing a fire at an apartment building in the 700 block of North Ochoa Street, near Wyoming Avenue, just north of Downtown, the affidavit stated.
No one was found inside the building until firefighters made a secondary sweep and found a man (described by police as a co-defendant) inside a restroom. The man does not appear to have been booked into jail, according to a jail log.
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The affidavit listed the fire response at 4:44 a.m. but an EPFD spokesperson previously said firefighters responded to the fire at 3:44 a.m. and that the fire was “knocked down” by 4:08 a.m. Saturday.
Firefighters were departing the scene when they found Lares face down on the ground with a bottle of lighter fluid underneath him at the dead end of Ochoa Street, about 200 feet south of the apartment building, the affidavit stated.
Lares had burns to 40% of his body, including severe burns to his face, chest, hands and back, along with a fractured skull and lacerations to the left side of his forehead and the back of his head. He was transported in critical condition to a regional burn center in Lubbock.
A man has died after being assaulted and intentionally set on fire in Central El Paso. File photo at a crime scene.
Video allegedly shows man beaten, set on fire
Detectives with the Crimes Against Persons Unit obtained video that shows Garcia, the co-defendant and another man. Then, Garcia and the co-defendant assault Lares, who is left lying on a concrete slab, the affidavit stated. The three then walk out of view of the camera.
According to the affidavit, the video shows Garcia returning and walking back to where Lares is still on the ground, then dousing him with the contents of a white bottle.
Lares begins to walk away from Garcia, who then pushes Lares from the back, causing him to fall and hit his face on the pavement, the affidavit stated. Garcia then allegedly kicks Lares multiple times on the head, before squatting next to him and intentionally igniting him on fire.
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“As the fire (increased) in size and intensity (Garcia) walked away without making an attempt to extinguish the fire or notify proper authorities,” the affidavit stated, adding that Lares burned for about 10 minutes.
Garcia allegedly left but then returned as Lares was still on the ground, the detective’s affidavit stated. Garcia then allegedly picked up several rocks that he threw at Lares before dropping the 10-inch “larger rock” on his head.
Garcia left again but later returned to continue to throw the same rocks at Lares, the affidavit stated.
An investigation by the EPPD Crimes Against Persons Unit continues, along with an investigation by the El Paso Fire Marshals Office into the suspected arson case.
Anyone with information may call the El Paso police nonemergency number at 915-832-4400 or may anonymously call Crime Stoppers of El Paso at 915-566-8477.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso homeless man dies after being set on fire in violent attack