San Bernardino County prosecutors this week charged an 18-year-old man with the shooting death of a U.S. Marine in Twentynine Palms and the alleged attempted murder of two other people, authorities said.
Rudy Garcia Jr. is accused of killing Robert James McDonald, 35, Monday night while he was sitting in his car with his dog, the Sheriff's Department said in a news release. McDonald was an active-duty gunnery sergeant stationed at the Marine Corps Logistics Operations Group in Twentynine Palms, according to the district attorney's office.
Sheriff's deputies responded shortly before 8 p.m. to reports of a group of four or five people causing a disturbance near the intersection of Old Dale Road and Alpine Avenue, authorities said. Initially, a neighbor attempted to speak to the group, but some of the individuals became hostile.
Not long after the exchange, one of the suspects, who was later identified as Garcia, fired several bullets from a gun toward the neighbor and another individual, authorities said. Neither man was hit, authorities said, and Garcia ran toward Knott Sky Park on El Sol Avenue.
The other people who were with García took another direction and were not seen again, according to authorities. But Garcia then approached McDonald, who was sitting in his car near a dog park on Foothill Drive, and fired his gun without warning at the vehicle during what authorities said was an attempted carjacking. . McDonald was hit several times and tried to drive away, but lost control and crashed into another vehicle, authorities said.
Sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene and provided medical assistance to McDonald, but he died at the scene, according to authorities. The people in the other vehicle suffered minor injuries.
Garcia ran away, but a short time later sheriff's deputies located him near the scene of the shooting and detained him. According to the Sheriff's Department, a gun believed to have been used in the shooting was also found in the area.
The district attorney's office charged Garcia with murder, attempted carjacking, attempted second-degree robbery, two counts of attempted premeditated murder and two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. Other special allegations have also been filed in the case, prosecutors said.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Det. Shawn Thurman at (909) 890-4904. Anonymous tips can be made to (800) 78CRIME or wetip.com.
