WATSONVILLE — A Watsonville man was arrested Tuesday on charges he murdered a coworker three months ago in Morgan Hill, the Watsonville and Morgan Hill police departments reported.
Martin Mason Garcia, 30, was arrested after a three-month investigation. He was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on a $6 million arrest warrant. He has since been transferred to the Santa Clara County Main Jail on murder charges.
The case began on July 3, when Morgan Hill Police officers responded to the 15000 block of Concord Circle for a report of an unconscious male on the sidewalk. Officers and paramedics arrived on scene moments later and pronounced the victim, Curtis Stephen Stapleton, 27, dead at the scene.
Detectives and the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner determined the death was suspicious and began an investigation.
Investigators determined that Garcia was the last person to be with Stapleton before his death and was involved in a physical altercation with him before police were notified.
The two men were co-workers of a nearby business.
Watsonville Police officers assisted with the arrest.
