Murrieta Man with Socks Fetish Pleads Guilty to Stalking Girls

A man with an apparent socks fetish is slated to be sentenced next month for harassing young girls and teenagers outside Murrieta schools and trying to lure them into his car.

Alexis Edmundo Zubi Garcia, 31, was arrested in April after police said they confirmed he had followed and accosted around a dozen children over a two-month span.

Garcia was charged with attempted kidnapping, communicating with a minor to commit a felony, possession of child pornography and 10 misdemeanor counts of annoying a child.

During a status hearing Friday, the defense and prosecution announced a plea agreement under which Garcia admitted all but the attempted kidnapping charge, which Riverside County Superior Court Judge Angel Bermudez is expected to dismiss as part of the plea deal.

A sentencing hearing is set for July 10. Court documents do not specify a prison term, but Garcia faces a minimum of three years felony probation. He could also be sentenced to more than three years behind bars.

The Murrieta resident, who has no prior felony convictions, is being held without bail at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.

Garcia was arrested in mid-April after a detective in an unmarked car spotted him speaking with a girl outside the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest County at 40500 California Oaks Road, according to Murrieta police Lt. Tony Conrad.

The defendant was freed on $5,000 bail but was re-arrested within a couple of days after he was positively identified as the suspect in numerous encounters with girls at Alta Murrieta Elementary, Murrieta Mesa High School, Rail Ranch Elementary and Shivela Middle School, Conrad said.

The defendant's Kilkare Circle house is just around the corner from Avaxat Elementary.

"Mr. Garcia drives up to minor female victims between 11 and 17 years old and engages them in conversation," Conrad said earlier. "The conversation centers around the victims' socks. The investigation led detectives to believe the suspect has a fixation with the socks being worn by the minors ... (and) the obsession is sexual in nature."

None of the victims were hurt during their encounters with the defendant.

— City News Service.