A Fontana man and his newfound girlfriend, Southern California-based fitness trainer and influencer Gloria Zamora, were gunned down by Zamora’s estranged husband in North Fontana on Saturday June 21.
Zamora’s husband, Tomas Alberto Tamayo Lizarraga, made an impromptu decision to confront his wife and Hector Garduno at the Falcon Ridge Town Center at around 9:30 p.m., after he had trailed her all the way from their former home in Perris.
That move turned out to be an unfortunate one for Lizarraga, as several off-duty law enforcement officers were in the area engaged in unrelated social activity at the time of the shooting. The gunshots resulted in one of those officers, a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy, alertly spotting Lizarraga and giving chase when he attempted to flee the scene. The deputy, who was armed, drew his gun and cowboyed Lizarraga not far from where he had dropped his wife and Garduno.
The background to the matter includes marital strife between Tomas Lizarraga, 45, and Gloria Zamora, 40, who were in the process of being divorced. There were suggestions of previous incidents of domestic violence by Lizarraga, but a search of available records show that he had no convictions nor that any such charges had been lodged against him.
Zamora, prior to the break-up of the marriage, had gained considerable notoriety as an in-person trainer to women and internet-based fitness adviser, who had set up an Instagram channel, which had attracted some 153,000 followers. Over the last 18 months, the relationship with her husband became increasingly strained, and Zamora had not held back on posting social media content that was less than flattering of her husband.
In postings and podcasts, Zamora had characterized her husband as close-minded and controlling, unsupportive of her efforts to first establish and then grow her career as a fitness champion, that he had, unsuccessfully, sought to block her way forward and to independence. “Instead of being supportive,” Zamora said of Lizarraga on Instagram, he was continually “trying to bring me down. I’m not happy in this marriage. Like he’s cheating on me.”
On June 21, according to investigators who were able to access Zamora’s, Lizarraga’s and Garduno’s phones and communication devices, geo-location and positioning apps as well as video footage of areas where they were that day, Lizarraga followed Zamorra all the way to Fontana, where Garduno lived. Around 8:30, Zamora and Garduno went to Summa Sushi at 15218 Summit Avenue Suite 500 in Fontana within the Falcon Ridge Town Center east of the 15 Freeway. The two had just finished their meal at around 9:30 p.m. when Lizarraga shot the couple in the restaurant parking lot, according to Fontana police.
Among the several off-duty law enforcement officers were in the area at the time of the shooting was a a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy. That deputy was in his car, just passing by that portion of Falcon Ridge Town Center where Summa Sushi is located and witnessed the shooting of both Zamorra and Garduno. Quickly parking his care, he confronted the yet-armed Lizarraga as the latter was making his way to his vehicle.
During the confrontation, Lizarraga was shot and killed.
Garduno had four daughters and Zamora six children. It is not clear if she shared any of those children with Lizarraga, nor how many children Lizarraga had.