Man who owed stripper service $30,000 suspected of fatally shooting debt collector

A man who owed a stripper service more than $30,000 was arrested on suspicion of murder after he allegedly shot the debt collector, Fresno police said.

Randy Jones, 29, of Friant, was arrested March 3 after he allegedly shot Justin Garza, 23, in the parking lot of a Motel 6 in the 4000 block of North Blackstone Avenue, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said at a news conference Thursday.

Jones, who had recently been released from prison on multiple DUI convictions, was looking to hire another stripper and had arranged to meet with the woman at the location about 3:30 a.m., he said. He arrived at the motel in a taxi cab.

Garza, who was hired to collect the outstanding debt from Jones, drove the woman to the motel in his car, Dyer said. A surveillance camera captured his interaction with Jones on videotape.

At one point, Jones walked back to the taxi before returning to speak with Garza, Dyer said.

“Garza believed he was going to be paid the money,” Dyer said. “Instead, Jones pulled out a handgun and began firing multiple times.”

Jones then forced the cab driver at gunpoint to drive him home, he said. When they arrived at the location, Jones pointed his gun at the driver and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire, he said.

Jones then loaded the gun and told the cab driver that he would kill the man if he reported the incident to police, Dyer said.

Jones was arrested a few hours later, he said.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra