> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Suspect in 20-year-old murder stands trial for 1984 shooting - URL: https://www.smdp.com/suspect-in-20-year-old-murder-stands-trial-for-1984-shooting/ - Published: 2005-08-12T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T07:34:39.000Z - Author: Ryan Hyatt - Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Pedraza arrested for homicide in July ’03* LAX COURTHOUSE — After eluding authorities for more than two decades, a former Santa Monica business owner accused of fatally shooting one of his patrons is now on trial for murder. A jury heard opening statements on Wednesday from attorneys about Antonio Pedraza’s alleged murder of Javier Garcia, 25, who was shot to death on June 21, 1984, in front of the Jalisco Cafe, a now-defunct bar once located at 1811 Olympic Blvd. Pedraza, 58, maintains he acted in self-defense. If convicted, Pedraza faces 16 years to life in prison. The fatal shooting occurred late at night, after an intoxicated Garcia was kicked out of the bar for breaking a beer bottle over the bar’s pool table, witnesses and police said. Pedraza, who owned the bar, demanded that Garcia leave. Garcia waited outside the bar until Pedraza confronted him from the front side of the building. Pedraza told Garcia that he didn’t want to kill him and he should go home. Garcia opened fire on Pedraza, using all six rounds of his.22 revolver. A bullet hit Pedraza’s chest during the shoot-out, but he avoided fatal injury because of a bullet proof vest he was wearing, his public defender said. Pedraza took cover around the corner, then shot Garcia at least eight times with his.38 semi-automatic pistol. After that, Pedraza walked up to Garcia — lying face-first on the sidewalk in a pool of blood — and shot Garcia three more times in the back of the head. Garcia suffered a total of 14 gunshot wounds from 11 bullets. Some of the gunshots entered and exited multiple parts of his body. Pedraza was never questioned by police at the time of the shooting. He fled the scene, and abandoned his bar and family. He was on the lam for 19 years before being arrested in Los Angeles in July of 2003 on drug charges. He allegedly sold narcotics out of a parking lot at which he worked. Shortly after the shooting, police found Pedraza’s tan Ford pick-up truck abandoned in Santa Monica. They believe he went to Mexico. He returned to the United States 10 years after the incident and lived here for nine more before his latest arrest. Pedraza appeared in court on Wednesday wearing a dark sport coat, dress shirt and a red-striped tie. He had streaks of gray in his dark hair, with a white mustache. He seemed calm, at one point returning from recess chewing gum. The bailiff poured him a glass of water. Seated between his attorney and interpreter, who spoke into a microphone, Pedraza listened to the proceedings through a headset. He didn’t speak during the court proceedings. He glanced at the jurors and occasionally turned around to check the time on a clock on the wall, and to look at the handful of people who had come to hear the case. Set to testify in the case is Ramon Garcia, who was 25 years old at the time and present during the shooting, as well as other witnesses who saw events leading up to Garcia’s death. Police and crime lab experts also are expected to testify. The trial is expected to be complete next Friday. Deputy District Attorney Larry Droeger said in his opening statement that the point at which Pedraza walked up to the body and proceeded to shoot Garcia three more times in the head is what distinguished the incident from a possible case of self-defense to murder. Prior to that move, there was a chance, however remote, Garcia may have lived. “It was simply an elimination, execution style,” Droeger said. Mojgan Aghai, Pedraza’s public defender, characterized Pedraza as a hard-working immigrant businessman who lost everything because of the shooting, including his bar and family. “He knew they were going to come back and kill him,” Aghai said. “This wasn’t a dispute in the Pacific Palisades. This was the streets.” Aghai said, considering the circumstances, Pedraza acted reasonably. “The most important right we have as Americans is the right to be safe,” Aghai said. “Who *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 12, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/081205.pdf?ref=smdp.com)