A man suspected of fatally shooting an off-duty bus driver eight years ago during an early-morning argument at a Kensington taco shop was arrested Tuesday at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Federal agents took 35-year-old Martin Villalpando into custody at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry as he entered the United States from Tijuana shortly before 2:30 p.m., according to San Diego police.
About 2 a.m. on March 20, 2007, transit worker Damon Green, 38, got into a conversation with Villalpando while eating with a friend at a small Mexican restaurant in the 4000 block of El Cajon Boulevard, Lt. Paul Rorrison said.
The discussion soon grew heated, and Villalpando departed along with a cohort. About 10 minutes later, Green and his companion left the eatery and were allegedly confronted by the other two men. Following another hostile exchange with Green, Villalpando allegedly pulled a gun and shot him.
The victim ran off and tried to take refuge a nearby doughnut shop, but the assailant fired through its front plate-glass window, mortally wounding him, Rorrison said.
Green was pronounced dead at a hospital about an hour later.
The SDPD Homicide Cold Case Unit recently uncovered new evidence that led them to identify Villalpando, a San Diego resident, as Green’s alleged killer, according to Rorrison. The lieutenant declined to disclose the nature of that information.
It was unclear what prompted the quarrel that led to the shooting.
— City News Service
