Photo: Fresno Sheriff's Office
She is 10 months old.
By Rebecca Jane Stokes — Written on Jun 26, 2019
Before two straight people go on a first date, men and women, it is often said worry about two different things. Men worry that the woman they are meeting for the first time might not laugh at their jokes.Women, on the other hand, worry that the man they are meeting for the first time will kill them. It's just a saying, but there's an alarming amount of truth to it.
That's something Deziree Menagh knows all too well after a deadling encounter with a man she rejected almost ripped away her main reason for being alive. Find out what happened the night she refused Marco Antonio Echartea and the horrible consequences she had to face when he lost his cool. Who is Marco Echartea?
1. What Happened
Men will do a lot of desperate things to win a woman's affection. In some respects, I blame the roles we've assigned the genders when it comes to courtship. We as women as "supposed" to tell men no, and men are "supposed" to chase us until we give up and just say yes. Perhaps this is why 23-year-old Marco Antonio Echartea went as far as he did in his pursuit of love.
According to Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer, Marco was arrested for shooting a 10-month-old baby girl named Fayth Percy in the head. While Fayth survived the attack, she had to be rushed to the hospital where emergency surgery was performed to remove the fragments of the bullet that were lodged inside of her head. She is now, according to the police, in stable condition.
2. The Night of The Shooting
But how does the shooting of an innocent baby connect with a man's inability to take "no" for an answer? Let's break this down, because it's a gnarly tale. Let us begin with the night of the shooting in question. Deziree Menagh, 18, decided to go the home of a friend where a party was taking place. The week before, Marco met her for the first time and made a move: Deziree shot him down.
When she arrived at the house, she found that Marco was there again. She went outside of the house and told people about their awkward encounter, but this didn't stop him from trying to win her over. He thought he'd accomplish this by trying to pull the young mom into his lap. Deziree pulled away, saying no again and that's when Marco lost it.
3. He Knew
Deziree knew that the smartest thing to do was simply leave the house and the party and head home before things got even worse. A male friend escorted her out of the home and got in her car with her. They were driving away when Marco approached, took out a gun and fired three shots into the driver's side window, according to the police.
“One of those rounds struck baby Fayth on the side of the head as she was being held by her mother Deziree, who was seated in the right front passenger seat,” said Chief Dyer. What makes this even more horrific (if you can even imagine) is the fact that the police also allege that Marco shot inside of the car even though he knew the baby was also in there.
4. The Arrest
The police were called along with emergency medical technicians. Fayth was whisked away to get help, while Marco was arrested at the scene. For Marco, this wasn't a one-off incident, he had been in trouble with the law before. To that end, it's not surprising that he is still being held in jail and will likely be held there until a bail hearing occurs.
While Fayth survived the brutal shooting, her road to recovery won't be an easy one. “I know the parents are broken. They’re hurting," said Chief Dyer. It's every parents' worst nightmare to see their child injured in any way at all, let alone for them to have recover from such a shocking attack like this one. All Deziree did was say no to a man, and this is how he retaliated. Disgusting.
5. Marco's Past
The local news in Fresno discovered something deeply unsettling about Marco's past when they were investigating him in connection with this latest arrest. They learned that when he was arrested, Marco was already wanted in connection with a shooting that took place on May 27th. He is accused of shooting into a home where the boyfriend of a woman he once dated was staying.
So there's a pattern: Marco wants a woman and doesn't get her (or manage to keep her, anyway) and he decides the only reasonable course of action is to try and kill her or the people she loves. The police also revealed that in this prior shooting, there was a one-year-old child who could have easily fallen victim to a stray bullet, much like poor Fayth did.
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. She's an experienced generalist with a passion for lifestyle, geek news, pop culture, and true crime.