On March 27, 2023, at about 5:51 a.m., officers responded to a shooting in a parking lot in the 10900 block of San Diego Mission Road in Grantville. Emergency crews found 38-year-old Chula Vista resident Pedro King with a gunshot wound to the chest; he was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 6:32 a.m.

Investigators reported a light-colored vehicle seen speeding away from the scene. Homicide detectives identified 28-year-old Fernando Limon Mata of Stockton as a person of interest and determined the vehicle Mata was driving had been reported stolen. On March 29, 2023, Escondido Police located the stolen vehicle near 1300 West Valley Parkway; Mata and a female companion were arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle. Prosecutors later had probable cause to charge Mata with King’s murder, and Mata was booked on one count of murder on April 3, 2023, while in custody at the San Diego County Jail.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Did anyone in the Grantville area see a light-colored vehicle leaving the parking lot that morning?