A 48-year-old man was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison on Sept. 21 for murdering his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn child in 2016 in an east Hollywood apartment.

The suspect, Philip Patrick Policarpio, has been in custody since May 2016 after he was arrested by authorities at the U.S. border near Tijuana. Policarpio fled to Mexico shortly after the murders on April 12, 2016. He was arrested attempting to re-enter the United States, said Det. Ray Martinez, with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Rampart Division.

Martnez said the motive was a domestic dispute between Policarpio and his girlfriend, Lauren Olguin, 32. The defendant went to an apartment at 572 N. Virgil Ave., just south of Melrose Avenue, and confronted Olguin, who was playing cards with friends.

During an argument that ensued, Policarpio struck the victim, who was approximately 17 weeks pregnant. The defendant left and returned a short time later, pulled out a handgun and shot Olguin in the head, Martinez said.

“It was just an argument,” he added. “There was no rhyme or reason.”

The shooting occurred in front of multiple witnesses. The detective said Policarpio had ties to gangs and previously served a prison sentence for attempted murder.

When detectives were unable to locate Policarpio, he was placed on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list. LAPD investigators worked with an FBI task force and authorities at the border, where the defendant was located and arrested on May 29, 2016.

Policarpio pleaded no contest to one count each of first-degree murder and first-degree murder of a fetus, as well as allegations he used a gun. The case was prosecuted by Kathy Ta, of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office’s Family Violence Division.