A 49-year-old man was charged Monday with murdering his estranged wife in an Anaheim park as she was waiting to pick up their daughter, who apparently witnessed the shooting.
Humberto Servin of Anaheim, who also facing a sentence-enhancing allegation of shooting a gun causing death, could face up to 50 years to life in prison if convicted.
Servin, whose arraignment was rescheduled to June 3, was ordered held on $1 million bail.
Claudia Espino Garcia, 42, of Tustin was shot to death last Thursday afternoon at Peralta Canyon Park, 115 N. Pinney Drive. Anaheim police Sgt. Daron Wyatt said officers responding to a report of gunfire at the park found the victim slumped over in the driver’s seat of her vehicle.
Garcia was taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, where she was pronounced dead.
Witnesses, including several children, gave officers a description of Servin and his vehicle, Wyatt said.
About 15 minutes later, officers located Servin’s 2002 gray Dodge Ram truck in the parking lot of the Anaheim Police Department’s East District substation at 8201 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road.
Servin, who drove to the substation to surrender, was taken into custody nearby, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
The victim and Servin had not lived together since 2008, according to prosecutors, who said he arranged Thursday to meet in the park with Garcia.
Servin allegedly opened the passenger side door and shot the victim, but he left the area when the couple’s daughter ran toward the vehicle, according to prosecutors.
There were no reports of domestic disturbances when the couple lived in Anaheim, Wyatt said.
Police recovered a weapon in Servin’s vehicle, but investigators need to do forensic testing to determine if it was the weapon used in the shooting, Wyatt said.
On May 22, 2012, Garcia was ordered to pay $283 a month in child support for the couple’s two sons, who are now 17 and 14 years old, according to Orange County Superior Court records. Authorities have not released the age of their third child, a daughter.
Anaheim police scheduled a community meeting at 6:30 tonight at Crescent Elementary School to discuss the shooting, Wyatt said.
Police officials routinely hold such meetings after a major incident, he said. A detective will be on hand to answer questions along with crisis counselors and chaplains, Wyatt said.
— Wire reports