Reyes Armondo Garcia Jr., 30

Reyes Armondo Garcia Jr., a 28-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Friday, Feb. 2, 2007, in the 14300 block of Telegraph Road in Whittier, according to Orange County coroner’s records. 

Garcia was working as a security guard for Oceans Sports Bar, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Sandra Nava said. That evening, five men tried to enter the bar but were turned away because they did not meet the dress code, according to records from the California 2nd District Court of Appeals. The men walked back to one of their vehicles, where they began drinking beer in the parking lot.

Garcia and two other security guards walked over to the men around 10:30 p.m. and asked them to leave. Three of the men got into the back seat of a parked truck, but one, Jesus Nava, began arguing with the guards and then threw a punch at Garcia, records show.

A fight ensued and two more security guards joined the group, according to court records. The two men traded punches before Garcia hit Nava hard enough that he fell into the open passenger door of the truck.

Garcia reached to hit Nava again, but the men in the back seat grabbed for Garcia. Another security guard then reached into the truck to separate the men in back, according to court records.

At that point, one of the men in the back seat, Jose Javier Nunez, 24, pulled a gun and began shooting, prosecutors said. 

The gunfire struck Garcia, who was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, where he was pronounced dead at 11:02 a.m., according to coroner’s records.

No one else was injured in the shooting.

Garcia lived in Orange and shared custody of his three young children with his ex-wife. He was working two jobs when he died — a full-time position at Dunkel Bros. Machinery Moving in La Mirada and the security guard post, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. In his free time, he loved restoring old cars and was a fan of zoot suits, which he wore for his prom, his wedding and, ultimately, his burial. 

Nunez later was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Garcia. A jury convicted him in October 2008, and Nunez was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison, according to court records. 

His conviction was overturned, however, because the original jury hadn’t been properly instructed about self-defense.

In order to avoid a second trial, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office negotiated a plea deal in which Nunez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on May 4, 2012, and was sentenced to 31 years in prison, according to court records. 

Nunez, now 34, is serving his time in Kern Valley State Prison, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He will be eligible for parole in December 2040.  

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.