California murder suspect awaiting extradition from Carson City Jail

Anthony Garcia, 56, is in the Carson City Jail awaiting extradition to Orange County California on a murder charge.

Sheriff Ken Furlong said his detectives assisted a team of investigators from Newport Beach while they interviewed as many as a half dozen people in this area putting together the case. But Furlong said the case was “months in the making.”

He said no press release was issued earlier because Newport Beach detectives were considering other possible arrests in the death of Abelardo Lopez Estacion, 81, who was found dead in his home there in April 2015. He was found lying on his back in his home by his live-in caretaker with blood coming out of his nose and mouth.

He was pronounced dead at the scene and an autopsy ruled Estacion had been murdered.

Garcia, a Carson City resident, faces a charge of murder with enhancement for financial gain, according to the Orange County Register.

The Register reported Newport Beach detectives expect to extradite Garcia to Orange County soon, said police spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella.

Estacion and Garcia are acquainted, Manzella told the Register, but she declined to release details of their relationship, or a motive for the slaying.

Furlong said his department was completely in a support role in the case. He said he expects the extradition paperwork and a team from Newport Beach to take Garcia to that city in the near future.