Concord man arrested in fatal Petaluma outlet mall shooting

A Concord man was arrested Friday on suspicion of murder in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old Santa Rosa man in the parking lot of the Petaluma Village Premium Outlets in late September.

David Kyle Lubkin, 26, was taken into custody at 6:16 a.m. at his home in Concord by the Petaluma Police Department’s investigation unit, aided by the Concord Police Department and officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration, police said. Lubkin was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility in Contra Costa.

The victim, Ezequiel Garcia, was shot about 8 p.m. Sept. 28 while sitting in the driver’s seat of his Infiniti sedan as hundreds of people worked and shopped at the mall. Investigators suspect that Lubkin shot at Garcia from behind the car, firing three rounds, said Petaluma Sgt. Paul Gilman. One of the bullets went through the car’s rear window and struck Garcia in the back, killing him, Gilman said. Another bullet hit the car, near the driver side quarter panel, and the other hit the Converse store building but didn’t injure anyone inside.

Several witnesses told authorities they heard gunshots and a crash in the parking lot. After the gunfire, Garcia stepped on the car’s gas pedal and accelerated forward, hitting a concrete wall before coming to a stop on a strip of landscaping near the Converse store. A witness also told investigators that either the passenger door was open or the window was slightly lowered, Gilman said.

Investigators believe Lubkin fled in a red Ford pickup truck - the same car witnesses told police they saw leaving the parking lot area the night of the shooting, Gilman said. The car is registered to one of Lubkin’s family members, and is impounded as evidence, Gilman said.

Investigators obtained a search warrant and searched Lubkin’s home after his arrest, according to a news release by Petaluma police.

Investigators identified Lubkin as a potential suspect in the homicide within a week of the shooting, Gilman said. He declined to elaborate on how investigators connected Lubkin with the incident, or how he may have known Garcia.

“We’re not really prepared to (release) that yet because there’s still some investigation that needs to be done,” Gilman said.

Police learned Lubkin and Garcia agreed to meet at the outlet the night of the shooting, and suspect that a fight may have ensued between the two, leading to the gunfire, the department said in a news release.

Gilman said that there currently is no evidence that suggests the homicide was gang or drug related. He added that the Drug Enforcement Administration assisted in Lubkin’s arrest “to augment our investigation staff” and that their involvement “had nothing to do with narcotics.”

Petaluma officers arrived in Concord about ?2 a.m. Friday to take Lubkin into custody. But before they could, Lubkin reported to local law enforcement that his car was stolen from his house - an incident unrelated to the homicide Petaluma officers were investigating him for.

“We had planned to take him into custody and this just happened to work in our favor,” Gilman said.

Detectives have already interviewed Lubkin, but Gilman declined to provide any information about what was discussed. He added that investigators will continue to interview and follow up with witnesses.

You can reach Staff Writers Chantelle Lee at 707-521-5337 or chantelle.lee@pressdemocrat.com and Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com.