Homeless man dies after being set on fire, assaulted in El Paso, Texas

A Texas man is accused of setting a homeless man on fire and crushing his skull with a rock during an attack in El Paso. The victim later died from his injuries.

The attack happened at about 3:44 a.m. Saturday on North Ochoa, where El Paso police responded to a report of an assault while firefighters were also dealing with a nearby house fire, according to local media reports citing court documents and police.

Officers found 47-year-old Salome J. Lares face-down at the end of the street with a bottle of lighter fluid underneath him. Police identified Lares as being “general delivery,” a term used for unhoused persons. He had injuries consistent with an assault and was flown to a burn center in Lubbock in critical condition.

The El Paso Times reported on Wednesday that Lares had died from his injuries, citing police. Court documents cited by KVIA said he suffered burns to his face, chest, hands and back, along with a fractured skull.

Officials identified 33-year-old David Garcia as the suspect. He was initially arrested on an aggravated assault charge, which was later upgraded to murder after Lares died.

Police recovered video showing Lares with Garcia and two other men, identified as Ivan Geovanny Espinoza and Alan Portillo, before the attack, according to KVIA. The footage showed Garcia and Espinoza physically assaulting Lares before the men moved out of view toward the house where the fire happened.

Footage showed Lares burning for about 10 minutes. Garcia then returned, threw several rocks at him, picked up a larger rock and dropped it on Lares’ head, according to the affidavit cited by KVIA. The video also showed Garcia leaving and later returning again to throw the same rock.

Garcia was arrested the next day on an unrelated charge. In a recorded statement cited by the station, the suspect told police that Lares had “disrespected him and the area”, and said he assaulted him and set him on fire because of that alleged disrespect.