'System failed her': Family decries lack of protection for murdered Winter Haven woman

HAINES CITY — Three of Yahorany “Nani” Popoca’s siblings staggered through the parking lot outside a Mexican restaurant Monday afternoon, their expressions both sorrowful and dazed.

Reaching the parking space where their youngest sister had been fatally shot two days earlier, the siblings crumpled in unrestrained agony.

Alicia Popoca wailed loudly, calling out repeatedly in Spanish. The siblings violently sobbed, leaning against each other for support. Esmeralda Popoca knelt before a small shrine of devotional candles, a stuffed elephant, flowers and balloons, abject grief distorting her face.

Amid the devastation and pain, Nani Popoca’s family members also projected anger. They say that law enforcement and the legal system failed to protect Nani, a 29-year-old mother of six, from a man who had stalked, harassed and threatened her for weeks before allegedly shooting her multiple times as she sat in her car.

Fearing the worst, Nani had obtained a protective injunction against the suspect, Rolando Guevara Zarate of Arcadia, just six days before police say he murdered her.

“There was nothing stopping him, not even the injunction, not even the restraining order,” said Mauricio Popoca, Nani’s older brother. “Nothing was stopping him. I mean, they (police) overlooked that, and they really overlooked a lot of things. It’s just — the system failed her. The system just failed her completely.”

The Haines City Police Department has charged Guevara with first-degree murder, alleging he shot Popoca several times at about 10:55 a.m. Sunday in the parking lot of La Fiesta Mexicana. Winter Haven Police arrested Guevara, 46, a short time later after a brief pursuit.

Guevara confessed to killing Popoca, Haines City Police said.

Popoca had sought and obtained restraining orders against Guevara, her former romantic partner and the father of four of her children. After gaining a temporary injunction on June 10, Popoca received a one-year injunction just six days before her death. The court directive barred Guevara from contacting Popoca or being within 500 feet of her home or workplace and ordered him to surrender all weapons and ammunition.

Guevara first went to Popoca’s mother’s house in Winter Haven on Sunday morning, asking her to persuade Nani to lift the injunction, according to an arrest affidavit from the Haines City Police Department. He then drove to the restaurant and parked behind Popoca’s gold Honda, knowing that she habitually sat in her car for a few minutes while applying makeup before starting her shift at 11 a.m., his statement said.

Popoca would not speak with him and appeared to be recording him or contacting law enforcement. Angered, he seized a gun and began shooting, the affidavit said. Witnesses from the restaurant reported that the suspect fired from behind before walking to the driver-side and shooting multiple times through the window.

Popoca called 911 and told an operator that Guevara was the man who had shot her multiple times, also identifying him to an officer as she was being treated following the attack, according to an arrest affidavit. Guevara told police that he planned to kill himself as well but had run out of bullets, according to the arrest affidavit.

Popoca, who sustained gunshots to her chest, chin and hand, was flown by helicopter to HCA Florida Osceola Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 12:03 p.m.

Guevara had a first appearance in court Monday, and Judge J. Kevin Abdoney ordered him held without bond.

The Ledger requested an interview with Haines City Police Chief Greg Goreck, but he was not made available on Wednesday.

'The best of us'

Popoca, a native of Mexico who came to the United States as a young child, was the youngest of eight siblings, family members said. She had recently been living in Winter Haven with Esmeralda Popoca, who also works at La Fiesta Mexicana.

“She was a very caring person,” said Esmeralda, 33, as she struggled to maintain composure. “She loved her kids. She would do anything for her kids. That's her first thing she had in mind every day when she would wake up. She was a very happy girl, helpful with everybody, just a sweetheart. As you know, we worked here. They all loved her.”

Esmeralda and two of her siblings, Mauricio Popoca of Lake Wales and Alicia Popoca of Winter Haven, appeared still to be in shock Tuesday afternoon as they sat on chairs provided by restaurant employees. In the background, power wrenches whirred in an auto service center across the road, from which some employees had witnessed Sunday’s horrific incident.

“She was the best out of all eight of us — the best attitude, the best character and the best personality,” Mauricio said. “She was never in a negative mood, always in a positive mood, no matter the situation.”

Nani Popoca had four of her children with Guevara, ranging in age from 22 months to 6 years. They lived together at various homes in DeSoto County before Popoca decided to end the relationship about 18 months ago, her siblings said.

Nani moved to Polk County, first living with Mauricio in Lake Wales. The siblings said that Guevara refused to accept that the relationship had ended, and he continued calling and texting Nani, to the point that she changed her phone number to avoid him.

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Guevara seemed deterred from approaching Nani while she resided with Mauricio, the brother said. After Nani and her children moved in with Esmeralda, though, Mauricio said the stalking and harassment “escalated.”

Nani Popoca started her job as a food runner three or four months ago at La Fiesta Mexicana, a long-established eatery featuring authentic Mexican food augmented by artwork imported from the neighboring country. The owners and most of the employees are Hispanic and bilingual, and a co-owner said Nani embraced the family dynamic among workers.

Nani and Esmeralda often ate breakfast together before driving to the restaurant to start their shifts at 11 a.m.

Escalating sense of threat

In her petition for protective injunction, filed June 10, Popoca described incidents in which Guevara stalked or threatened her. In July 2022, when she lived in Arcadia, Guevara forced open a bathroom door and slapped her on the back of the head, causing dizziness and blurred vision. She was pregnant with her youngest child at the time, she wrote.

On June 8, less than three weeks before Popoca’s death, Guevara pulled into her driveway just after she arrived home from work and was clearly intoxicated, she wrote in the petition. She declined his requests to go somewhere with him, and he said he would if she allowed him to come inside and kiss his children.

Guevara woke up one of her children and spoke to him in an upsetting way, the petition says. As Popoca sought help from her sister in getting him to leave, he grabbed her arms and pulled her down the stairs. After Guevara left the home, Esmeralda called 911 as the sisters heard him banging on the house.

Nani Popoca later discovered that Guevara had slashed all four tires on her car, she wrote.

Popoca wrote that Guevara had called her job site and threatened employees, adding, "This really has me afraid." The owners of the restaurant confirmed that Guevara had threatened to kill employees if they did not allow him to speak to Popoca.

In the petition, Popoca noted reporting Guevara to authorities in DeSoto County and to the Winter Haven Police Department. In response to a request, WHPD provided records of two phone calls, one from June 8 and the other from the night before the murder.

According to a report of the first call, Popoca said she had been receiving phone calls from her former partner both at home and at work and that he threatened to kill her and then himself. An officer noted that there were “no direct threats made to the victim” and that other alleged incidents occurred in Haines City, a different jurisdiction.

“They arrived there, and we spoke to them, and they were like, that they didn't have any proof, enough to do something, to go get him,” Esmeralda said dejectedly. “She provided them an address from Arcadia, where he was staying, places she knew he would be at.”

An officer indicated plans to file a complaint affidavit for Guevara’s arrest on a charge of simple battery. WHPD searched for Guevara that night but could not find him, WHPD spokesperson Jamie Brown said.

The officer reported advising Popoca to seek a protective injunction, which she did two days later. The officer also requested patrols and perimeter checks of Popoca’s home for the next two weeks as call volume allowed.

Even though the charge involved domestic violence, simple battery is a misdemeanor. For that reason, an officer was unable to make an entry into a state database, alerting other agencies to the affidavit for Guevara’s arrest on the battery charge, Brown said.

Guevara was apparently not arrested on that charge before Popoca’s murder.

Protection on paper

Judge Keith Spoto issued a temporary injunction against Guevara on June 10, and the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office served him the papers four days later, a spokesperson said. The order barred Guevara from any contact with Popoca, including by phone calls or text messages or communicating through another person, and it gave Popoca full temporary custody of their four children.

Judge Lori Winstead issued a final judgment on June 24, issuing a one-year injunction valid and enforceable in all Florida counties. She added the requirement that Guevara surrender all weapons and ammunition, and Popoca’s petition indicated that she believed he owned at least one gun.

A Polk County Sheriff’s deputy served Guevara with the order the day of the hearing, and the Polk County Clerk of Courts office sent the packet to PCSO, a spokesperson said. The injunction ordered Guevara to surrender his weapons to “local law enforcement,” and that is typically enforced by an agency where the respondent lives, a PCSO spokesperson said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office had not confirmed whether it received notice of the injunction.

According to form language in the petition, if the subject violates the terms without being arrested, the victim may contact the local Clerk of Courts office or the State Attorney’s Office to request the filing of a civil complaint or criminal charges, if warranted by evidence. Violating the injunction’s terms is a first-degree misdemeanor, with a maximum sentence of one year in prison.

“Unfortunately, injunctions are a piece of paper, a court order, which only works if the perpetrator adheres to it,” said Larry G. Williams Jr., CEO of Peace River Center, a Bartow-based nonprofit that advocates for domestic violence victims. “Regrettably, much of the burden is placed on the survivor to remain vigilant and safety plan, which we do with survivors who call our 24-hour domestic violence hotline.”

The free and confidential hotline number is 863-413-2700.

WHPD documented receiving a second call from Popoca’s address at 11:04 p.m. on Saturday, about 12 hours before the attack. Esmeralda Popoca said that Guevara repeatedly called the restaurant that last day. She also said that one of Guevara’s children had texted to say that he had talked of killing Popoca and then himself.

“She got home (from work) so scared, so panicked,” Esmeralda said. “Her hands were so sweaty.”

After informing an officer of the injunction against Guevara, Popoca said that she had video showing his vehicle parked that day in front of her home, a violation of the injunction. She also said that he had been sending text messages to her and her family members and had tried to call her at the restaurant, further violations.

The Winter Haven officer noted that the restaurant is in Haines City and advised her to report Guevara’s phone calls to that city’s police department. The officer noted sending a communication to the Arcadia Police Department and the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office at 12:58 a.m. on June 30, suggesting a well-being check on Guevara.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office had not determined whether it received any communication or acted on it.

Seeking help the day before

In response to a request from The Ledger, the Haines City Police Department shared records of three phone calls received — one on June 8 and two from the day before the murder, at about noon and 4:30 p.m. The location from which the calls came was redacted.

Family members and restaurant employees said that they recalled more calls to law enforcement than indicated by the records from the Haines City and Winter Haven departments. They said they planned to check the call logs from Popoca’s cellphone and the phone at La Fiesta Mexicana.

Esmeralda remembered Popoca calling police three times from the restaurant the day before she was killed.

“They told her that they were going to come, and they never responded and never helped her,” she said.

One of the restaurant's owners, who asked to be identified only as Miralla, said that Guevara would sometime call the business line every five or 10 minutes and demand to speak to Popoca. Fellow employees would walk Popoca to her car after her shift to help ensure her safety, Esmeralda said.

Popoca was headed to work Sunday morning when she noticed Guevara’s car, her siblings and co-workers said. She frantically called the restaurant, and she was on the phone with Esmeralda when the shooting began.

Haines City Police officers responded promptly and in great force to the 911 calls that morning. Though Popoca’s relatives appreciated that, they questioned why the agency did not react with the same vigor to Popoca’s repeated cries for help.

Guevara’s charges include violation of an injunction, aggravated stalking of a victim after a no-contact order and illegal use of a two-way device.

“She did everything she had to do, and there was still nothing,” Miralla said. “Something in the system has to change. More women die — like yesterday, I was looking at the news, to try to watch the report that they had (on Nani). Boom, a girl was killed, again. Domestic violence. So when are they going to listen to women? When are they going to care?”

After his arrest, Guevara told Haines City Police that he was upset because the court order prevented him from his children, but Popoca’s siblings and the restaurant owners scoffed at that. They said he didn’t really care about the children and only wanted to get Nani back with him.

On May 5 — Cinco de Mayo, a busy day for Mexican restaurants — Guevara threatened to drop all six of Popoca’s children at La Fiesta Mexican during her shift, Miralla said. Popoca told the owner that Guevara was trying to get her fired to ruin her life.

Following the tragedy, one of Nani’s brothers temporarily took her six children into his home. Esmeralda said that family members would eventually figure out a lasting arrangement. Nani’s oldest understands what had happened to her, she said, while family members simply told the youngest that their mother is now an angel in heaven.

Family members and friends held a vigil Tuesday evening in the parking lot of La Fiesta Mexicana. Customers have been asking what they can do to help Nani’s family, Miralla said. The restaurant will accept donations, but she encouraged direct contributions through a GoFundMe account that Esmeralda created.

As of Wednesday afternoon, donors had given $2,450 toward a goal of $10,000.

“Nani Popoca was a beautiful daughter, friend, sister and an amazing mother to 6 beautiful children,” Esmeralda’s description on the fundraiser reads. “She was so bright, smart and funny. She loved her kids and family so much.”

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: Family: System failed to protect murdered Winter Haven woman