Murder suspect in high-profile transgender rights case surrenders to Fresno police

Derrick Garcia, 25, a suspect in the high-profile slaying of Imer Alvarado, who was gunned down while dressed as a woman on Belmont Avenue in May 2017, is in custody.

The case sparked outrage in the transgender community, many of whom felt the slaying may have been a hate crime.

In February, Police Chief Jerry Dyer named Garcia as a suspect in the slaying of Alvarado, 34, who was found lying in the 3400 block of East Belmont Avenue in the early morning hours of May 17, 2017. He had been shot. Dyer said shell casings and video evidence led detectives to Garcia.

Madrigal said Garcia, who had been sought on a warrant, turned himself into detectives. He was being held Tuesday in Fresno County Jail without bail.

Alvarado was identified as a man by the Fresno County Coroner's Office, based on documents such as a birth certificate and a driver's license, but Dyer said shortly after the murder that Alvarado appeared to be transgender.

The coroner's decision to identify Alvarado as a man drew criticism from Jess Fitzpatrick, co-chair of Trans-E-Motion, a support, education and advocacy group for transgender people. Fitzpatrick said the community did not know how Alvarado self-identified, but called it "disheartening" that the office concluded the victim was male.

Dyer said police believe Alvarado was working as a prostitute at the time of the murder.

The slaying of Alvarado followed the 2015 murder of Casey, or "K.C." Haggard, 66, a transgender person who was stabbed and left for dead in central Fresno. Richard Joseph Lopez , arrested in that case, has pleaded not guilty.

This story was originally published July 3, 2018 at 1:29 PM.