UPDATE: Perris triple murder suspect captured in Wyoming

February 27, 2020 Trevor Montgomery

PERRIS — Officials investigating the execution-style slayings of three Perris residents at a Perris cemetery earlier this month announced today the arrest of the man they say was responsible for the gruesome triple murder.

Officials had been searching for the alleged suspect, Jose Luis Torres Garcia, a 33-year-old, Mexican national, since the Feb. 17 murders that stole the lives of 50-year-old, Jaime Covarrubias Espindola, 38-year-old, Jose Maria Aguilar-Espejel, and 28-year-old, Rodrigo Aguilar-Espejel.

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Deputies and investigators from the Perris Sheriff’s Station and Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit began investigating the triple murder after the victims’ bodies were discovered near a grave site at the Perris Valley Cemetery.

As their investigation was getting underway, officials identified Garcia as the man they say was responsible for the slayings.

Officials today announced the capture of 33-year-old, Mexican national, Jose Luis Torres Garcia, in connection with the Feb. 17 execution-style murders of three Perris residents at a Perris cemetery. RSO photo

Based on their investigation, officials issued a $3 million warrant for Garcia’s arrest and asked all area law enforcement agencies to be on the look out for the alleged murderer.

Earlier today, Thursday, Feb. 27, law enforcement officers in Cheyenne, Wyoming conducted a traffic enforcement stop on a vehicle Garcia was driving, according to Riverside Sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Espinoza.

While conducting a records check, officers conducting the traffic stop learned Garcia was wanted for the Perris triple murders and arrested him.

During a subsequent check of Garcia’s vehicle, officers discovered 15 pounds of marijuana, according to Espinoza.

SEE ORIGINAL AND UPDATED STORY: 3 found murdered at Perris cemetery, officials investigating

Citing their ongoing investigation, sheriff’s officials have not released any known motive for the murders, what may have led to the execution-style slayings, or if the slayings were tied to cartel violence south of the border.

However, in a recent news conference Sheriff Chad Bianco said Garcia knew the three victims and was with them the entire evening leading up to their deaths.

“The suspect and victims knew each other,” Bianco explained; saying, “The normal resident of Perris has nothing to fear from him.”

“This was not a random killing,” Bianco continued, without expanding further. “There was a reason for the four of them to be together.”

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Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 29 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 16 grandchildren.