Defying restraining orders, man shoots mother of his children, Haines City police say

An Arcadia man faces a first-degree murder charge after police say he shot his estranged romantic partner and the mother of his children in the parking lot of the Haines City restaurant where she worked.

Haines City Police Department officers responded Sunday at about 10:55 a.m. to a 911 call and other calls reporting a shooting in the parking lot of La Fiesta Mexicana Restaurant, the agency said in a news release. The victim, Yahorany "Nani" Popoca, 29, died despite emergency medical efforts, HCPD said in a news release.

The victim also called 911, describing the suspect, Rolando Guevara-Zarate, as her estranged boyfriend of at least seven years, the release said.

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Witnesses described the suspect’s vehicle, a burgundy Ford Mustang, prompting HCPD to issue an alert to surrounding agencies while they began providing first aid to the victim, the release said.

At 11:18 a.m., a Winter Haven Police Department K-9 officer spotted a vehicle matching the description coming into their jurisdiction. With assistance from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit, the vehicle was stopped, but the suspect fled on foot, the release said. Winter Haven police officers soon apprehended him.

The suspect’s vehicle was seized for evidence, and a rifle was found inside, for which a search warrant is being obtained, the release said. Guevara-Zarate, 46, has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated stalking, violation of an injunction for protection against domestic violence, discharging a firearm in public and other offenses, the release said.

Two restraining orders in June

Guevara-Zarate had repeatedly stalked and threatened Popoca leading up to Sunday's shooting, according to court records and the owner of the restaurant. Judges issued successive restraining orders against Guevara-Guevara-Zarate in recent weeks.

Circuit Judge Keith Spoto issued a temporary injunction for protection against domestic violence on June 10, the day that Popoca filed a petition. Circuit Judge Lori Winstead then issued a one-year injunction on June 24, barring Guevara-Zarate from any contact with the victim or their four children.

The petition lists the children's ages as 1½, 3, 4 and 6. Under the injunction, Guevara-Zarate was ordered to surrender all guns.

Winstead ordered Guevara-Zarate to avoid any contact with Popoca and to remain at least 500 feet from her home or place of employment. Winstead also indicated that Guevara-Zarate could not possess any weapons or ammunition, and he was ordered to surrender any weapons or ammunition to local law enforcement.

As of Monday afternoon, it was unclear which agency was responsible for enforcing that provision of the order.

The restaurant's owner said that Popoca was desperately trying to flee from Guevara-Zarate as she drove into the parking lot Sunday morning. The owner, who asked not to be identified, saying he still feels in danger, said that Popoca called other employees inside the restaurant and asked them to come out and help her.

Popoca then called her sister as she sat in her parked car, the owner said. The victim was on the phone with her sister when the suspect pulled up behind her, firing first from that position before walking to the driver's side of Popoca's car and firing multiple shots through the window.

Popoca's sister heard the gunshots as the phone call continued, the owner said.

'They lived through it. They saw it'

Popoca had worked at the restaurant for three or four months, the owner said. During that time, Guevara-Zarate had repeatedly called the restaurant, demanding to talk to her and threatening employees who would not put her on the line, the owner said.

"He turns on everybody, like, 'If you don't tell me where she's at, if you don't pass me to her, I'm going to come in and shoot everybody,'" the owner said.

Employees made multiple calls to the Haines City Police Department to report Guevara-Zarate's threats, the owner said.

Popoca lived in Winter Haven with a sister who also works at the restaurant, the owner said. They had called authorities several times to report Guevara-Zarate's threatening behavior, he said. The sister could not be reached Monday.

HCPD said in the news release that it would "examine interactions between the suspect and the victim leading up to the fatal incident, including any calls for service received by the agency or other agencies." The department will conduct a comprehensive review of these interactions to ensure that all protocols were followed, the release said.

The Ledger requested records of any calls involving Guevara-Zarate made to HCPD.

The owner said that Popoca had a total of six children. He worried that they would be separated if Popoca's sister isn't able to care for all of them.

The owner closed the restaurant on Sunday after the shooting, and he said he spoke to his employees, who were deeply upset.

"There's nothing you can tell them to make the story different," he said. "They lived through it. They saw it."

'This really has me afraid'

Popoca's petition for a protective injunction offers details on the escalating threats that she said she faced from Guevara-Zarate. Popoca wrote that Guevara-Zarate pulled into her driveway on June 8, about five minutes after she returned home from work. After she declined his invitation to go out with him and repeatedly asked him to leave, he said he would if she allowed him to come inside and kiss his children.

Guevara-Zarate was heavily inebriated, Popoca wrote. After entering the house, he woke up one of her children and told him that he would never see him again because Popoca wanted it that way, the petition says.

Popoca left the bedroom to go upstairs and get her sister, she wrote. Guevara-Zarate ran toward her, gripped her right arm and began to pull her down the stairs. She grabbed the rail with her left hand, and Zarata yanked that arm loose while still gripping her right arm, she wrote.

"That's where I screamed and begged him to leave," Popoca wrote. "And my kids were all awake by this time, crying, telling him, 'Dad, let mommy go.'"

Popoca's sister convinced Guevara-Zarate to leave and then locked the door and called 911. While on the phone, the sisters heard banging on the house and feared Guevara-Zarate was attempting to break the windows, Popoca wrote. She later discovered that he had slashed all four of her tires.

In the petition, Popoca wrote that Guevara-Zarate had called her job site and threatened employees, adding, "This really has me afraid."

The petition described an earlier incident, from July 2022, when she lived in Arcadia. Popoca wrote that Guevara-Zarate forced open a bathroom door when she was inside and slapped the back of her head, leaving her dizzy and her vision blurry. She was pregnant at the time, she wrote.

Popoca indicated on the petition that she had reported Guevara-Zarate's behavior to the Winter Haven Police Department and authorities in DeSoto County. The Ledger requested records from WHPD of any responses to calls made by Pocopa or her sister.

Detectives are processing multiple scenes, continuing to interview the suspect and notifying the victim’s family members, the release said. Guevara-Zarate confessed to the crime, stating that he was concerned the victim was going to take their children from him, HCPD reported. He also confessed to disposing of the firearm he used while driving away from the scene. A weapon matching this description has since been recovered, the release said.

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The Haines City Police Department withheld the victim's name, citing Marsy's Law, a state statute. The Ledger learned her name through court records and the restaurant owner.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Haines City Police Department at 863-421-3636. Those wishing to provide information anonymously may contact Heartland Crime Stoppers at 888-400-8477.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Arcadia man charged with killing mother of his children in Haines City