Man who allegedly beat California grandmother with bat arrested in Oklahoma

A baseball bat-wielding maniac has been caught in Oklahoma after nearly beating a San Bernardino County grandmother to death then going on the lam for two months.

The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office arrested and jailed Erik Eduardo Navarro, 26, of Orange County, on separate traffic charges.

After investigators learned of his incarceration, they worked to obtain his extradition to California and took custody of him on Tuesday after flying to Oklahoma.

“Working in coordination with the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, detectives obtained an extradition warrant,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.

Navarro allegedly took advantage of 71-year-old Therese Garcia’s generosity earlier this year when she opened her Crestline home to him.

He gave her a sob story — telling Garcia he needed a place to stay before a job interview, and she kindly obliged.

The kindhearted woman took him in, cooked for him every night, and came to believe he was a “sweet kid” down on his luck.

But shortly after she took him in, he began “making demands and taking over her home,” the family said. When she grew sick of his behavior and told him to leave on Aug. 25, he allegedly took horrific measures.

Navarro allegedly obtained a metal baseball bat and began clubbing the grandma while she was sleeping.

Family said he beat her in and out of consciousness, and she needed urgent medical care for her injuries.

“He just kept beating her until he finally thought she was dead,” daughter Abbie Garcia told CBS News.

Her family said Navarro took her credit cards, keys, phone, and e-bike before fleeing.

The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department said she suffered “a laceration to her forehead, cut eyebrow, swollen hands, and swollen orbital area to the point she was unable to clearly see.”

She also spent “days” vomiting blood as a result of the horrific alleged attack. Family started a GoFundMe for their medical expenses and said the grandmother was close to death.

Navarro has been arrested pending prosecution on Battery with Serious Injury, Elder Abuse Likely to Produce Great Bodily Injury or Death, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Robbery, and Damaging a Wireless Communication Device to Prevent Help. He’s been booked in the West Valley Detention Center.

Her daughter believes she didn’t deserve any of the beating Navarro allegedly doled out to her.

“My mom didn’t deserve this,” Abbie said. “She was simply trying to help someone she believed was in need, something she has always done throughout her life. This time, her kindness was met with unimaginable violence.” 

His bail has been set at $250,000, and he has a court date set for Friday, according to jail records.

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