Crestline Assault: Suspect Hauled From Oklahoma Jail

Erik Eduardo Navarro was pulled from an Oklahoma jail on Tuesday to face charges in a brutal attack on a 71-year-old California woman.

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department detectives located Navarro in Cleveland County, where he was already serving time on separate traffic violations. He had been on the run since the August 25 incident. Navarro was booked at the West Valley Detention Center and remains held without bail, with his bail set at $250,000.

Navarro is accused of beating Therese Garcia with a metal bat inside her home on Straight Way. The assault lasted for hours. Garcia had allowed Navarro to stay in her residence for about a week after he claimed he was robbed while tent camping nearby. Abbie Garcia, Therese’s daughter, stated that the violence began the night after her mother asked Navarro to leave.

Authorities say Navarro fled the scene after stealing credit cards and an e-bike. He is charged with battery with serious injury, robbery, elder abuse likely to produce great bodily injury or death, and assault with a deadly weapon. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Jenny Smith noted that Navarro has family members in Oklahoma, which helped investigators trace his location.

Garcia suffered a traumatic brain injury, a brain bleed, and lacerations and swelling on her head, face, arms, and hands. She was still recovering from these injuries as recently as September. Oklahoma court records show Navarro pleaded guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation in 2022.