An Escondido man, accused of shooting and killing a young mother in an alleged drug-fueled rage, has a criminal past and a history with drug abuse according to court documents.
Jeffrey Steven McCreary, 42, faces one count of murder in the shooting death of Morayama Rodriguez. Known as Denise to family and friends, Rodriguez was the mother of an 11-month-old girl.
On Feb. 1, a mountain biker disovered Rodriquez, 20, lying face down alongside a secluded road in the North County. She had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
Three days later, San Diego County Sheriff's Deputies arrested McCreary after a pursuit through Escondido.
A law enforcement source told NBC San Diego that McCreary and Rodriguez and an unidentified friend were riding inside a white Mercedes when McCreary pulled out a gun and shot Rodriquez to death in what appears to be an unprovoked attack.
The source added the shooting may have been part of a drug-fueled rage.
McCreary has a criminal past, serving time for armed robbery more than 20 years ago. In court documents released Tuesday, family members requested leniency in sentencing claiming McCreary, 20-years-old at the time, had always been an “underdog” who was small in stature and suffered from an immature view of the world.
The defendant had used crystal methamphetamine prior to his 1989 armed robbery conviction sentence and had even attempted suicide with an overdose of prescription pills according to his family.
Local
A law enforcement source said McCreary didn’t know Rodriguez well and that McCreary and the victim may have just met in the last week or so.
Javier Rodriguez spoke with a local television station, “This is really hard,” he said. “It’s a pain we’re going to keep all the rest of our life.”
Rodriguez said his daughter was killed somewhere else and dumped in the location where she was discovered.
The victim's sister told our media partners the North County Times that Rodriguez told family members she was headed to a casino Tuesday night but never returned.
McCreary was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday but the hearing was postponed.
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