Concord Man Convicted for 2019 Petaluma Outlets Murder

Defendant David Kyle Lubkin, 29 years old of Concord, CA, was convicted today by jury of First Degree Murder and Discharging a Firearm at a Motor Vehicle causing death. These convictions stem from the September 28, 2019 killing of 19 year-old Ezequiel Garcia at the Petaluma Outlets.

District Attorney Rodriguez stated, “The jury’s guilty verdict of first-degree murder is the result of countless hours of hard work by tireless detectives, analysts and prosecutors, all dedicated to providing justice to Mr. Garcia’s family. My only hope is that Mr. Garcia’s family finds some solace in today’s outcome”

On September 28, 2019, Defendant Lubkin met with Mr. Garcia at the Petaluma Outlets under the guise of purchasing a gold necklace off Craigslist. When the victim drove up in his vehicle, Lubkin confronted him about another necklace that he sold to him several days prior.  Mr. Lubkin pulled a gun from his waistband and fired three shots as the victim drove away.  Mr. Garcia was struck by one of the shots and died from his injuries soon thereafter. Initially two eyewitnesses came forward and provided statements about what they had seen. With this limited information, detectives with the Petaluma Police Department launched into weeks of investigation which ultimately led to the arrest of Defendant.

At trial, Lubkin took the stand and, for the first time, confessed to being the shooter. He claimed that he acted in self-defense not knowing what the victim might do while driving away. The jury rejected this assertion and returned a conviction as to all counts. Mr. Lubkin now faces a sentence of up to 50 years to life in State Prison. A sentencing date is expected to be scheduled for late July.

The case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Matthew Henning and Deputy District Attorney Brian Morimune with the assistance of District Attorney Investigator Alexis Bartley. Sgt. Walt Spiller of the Petaluma Police Department headed the investigation.