Manatee County detectives connect known gang member to second cold case murder, officials say
Booking image for Pedro Garcia
BRADENTON, Fla. - After telling another inmate he murdered a man in 2006, Manatee County detectives charged a gang member in the cold case, according to the sheriff's office. They said it was the second murder the suspect has been charged with within the past year.
Tuesday, they arrested 40-year-old Pedro Garcia, saying he murdered 37-year-old Guadalupe Vela. Back in June 2006, Vela was at Santa Fe Bar and Grill in Bradenton where both men began arguing. One is a gang member, the other is a member of a rival gang, detectives noted in a press release.
The argument continued outside the bar before both men left in different directions, officials said.
Investigators said Vela went to a relative's home in the 100 block of 33rd Avenue East in Bradenton. There, he encountered Garcia again and the argument resumed.
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That's when Garcia shot Vela, striking him twice in the back while he was trying to leave, detectives described. Vela was found dead in the backyard. At the time, deputies found bullet casings and a witness who refused to cooperate.
In October 2006, Garcia was stopped for a traffic violation in Bradenton. Deputies said they found a 9mm pistol in his vehicle and arrested him for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Ballistics testing was completed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, showing the gun was linked to the crime scene, but the rounds that struck Vela likely came from a different weapon.
In the years after the 2006 murder, detectives said they spoke to different witnesses who said Pedro made statements about killing Vela. This includes in 2015 when Garcia confided in another inmate at the Manatee County Jail that he killed Vela. This time, detectives said he gave specific details about the events that occurred that night and the crime scene.
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Detectives learned about this conversation last summer. In July 2021, they interviewed a prisoner at the Wakulla Correctional Institution who stated they witnessed Garcia shooting Vela.
By Monday, Manatee County detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Garcia. He was found at a home in the 800 block of 30th Avenue West and taken into custody. They said he was out on bond for an unrelated homicide case.
Detectives said back in June 2021 – one month before they interviewed the prisoner in the Vela case – a separate arrest warrant was issued for the 2014 murder of Samuel Conde. In fact, they believe Garcia could be connected to other violent crimes that remain unsolved from the early to mid-2000s.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Manatee County Sheriff's Office at 941-747-3011. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Manatee Crime Stoppers at 866-634-8477 or visiting www.ManateeCrimeStoppers.com.