Man convicted in ’91 killing arrested in southeast Fresno slaying, police say

Fresno police have arrested a suspect in the August stabbing death of a man in southeast Fresno.

Michael Leyva, 46, of Fresno was taken into custody Saturday after surrendering to police at a northwest Fresno motel, Chief Jerry Dyer said Monday.

Police believe Leyva stabbed Miguel Arnulfo Garcia, 38, to death outside of businesses in the 3600 block of East Belmont Avenue on Aug. 19.

The day of the homicide, police were called to the scene for a welfare check on a male. Responding officers found Garcia bleeding heavily from a stab wound to the chest. He was taken to Community Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead.

Although there were no witnesses, Dyer said a police camera captured footage of the suspect’s vehicle leaving the area of the alleged crime.

Police believe Leyva had been involved in a disturbance with the victim in front of businesses, and their argument became physical. Leyva pulled knife and stabbed Garcia. During their investigation police recovered Leyva’s vehicle and served a search warrant at central Fresno residence.

Dyer mentioned Leyva has served time in prison, having been convicted on manslaughter in 1991 for stabbing someone to death.

Although he was sentenced to 11 years in prison, he served five and afterward was known to be “rearrested for other types of felony cases,” Dyer said.

This story was originally published September 3, 2018 at 4:05 PM.