Front Page  »  

San Luis Obispo homicide victim and suspect identified

December 1, 2021

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

Police have identified the 64-year-old man who was killed near Megan’s Organic Market on Higuera Street last month as San Luis Obispo transient Rick Fowler.

Shortly before 5 p.m. on Nov. 20, a 911 caller reported need for medical aid at a homeless encampment located behind the pot shop near San Luis Obispo Creek. Officers arrived and found Fowler’s body. He had been stabbed.

Fowler’s suspected killer, 42-year-old Marco Cota, Jr. of Exeter, is currently being held in the San Luis Obispo County Jail on charges unrelated to the alleged murder. While Cota has not been charged with murder, officers are working with the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office, which is preparing to file criminal charges.

Early on the morning of Nov. 21, authorities booked Cota in jail on charges of being under the influence of a controlled substance and parole and probation violations. His bail is set at $25,000, according to the county website.

Cota is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 6 over charges unrelated to the homicide.

Investigators believe the killing at the SLO homeless encampment was an isolated incident. Anyone who has information about the case can submit an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at (805) 549-STOP.


Loading...
Related:


5 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

From Exeter…hmm I wonder how many SLO homeless are here because of the “Build the Homeless shelter project” from Hill,s X. Remember that? Tores got dissed from CapSlo, so she came up with the build a Shelter idea? And my understanding, right around that time our homeless population grew substantially. Has anyone ever taken a poll of the homeless, to find out where they come from?


0

That homeless encampment has pre-dated Megan’s Market’s existence in SLO. So has the occasional violence associated with it. There is no relation between the two that has been reported. Do you have something to report?


You could have just as easily referenced “Lube and Go” for a landmark versus Megan’s Pot Market. In fact, I would venture to guess that reader’s are more likely to know of, and done business with, the Lube and Go versus a dispensary. So it was not added to help “ground” the reader.

So why do you include the proximity to Megan’s Market other than to infer they are related to the violence and impugn them generally?


7

Those lube and gos are a magnet to homeless pothead murderers.


8

A bit of Reefer mania taking hold? ..Lube N go aren’t a magnet for crime either, but the creek that is behind them both is.


11

Oh, literal Mr Yan!


4