QUOTE 1: Facts of the Crime: On March 29, 2001, in San Antonio,
Texas, Garcia fatally shot two victims, San Antonio Police Officer Hector Garza,
48, and Jessica Garcia, 21. The incident began as a domestic dispute between
Garcia and Jessica, his wife. Officer Garza, who responded to the disturbance
call, was the first victim. Garcia shot the officer three times, resulting in
his death. Garcia then shot his wife six times resulting in her death. The
couple's five-year-old daughter witnessed both murders. Garcia also shot and
wounded the uncle of his wife during the incident. Garcia was sentenced to
death in June 2002.
Garza's
family, in a statement through the San Antonio Police Department, said they
didn't see the punishment as a cause for celebration.
"Hector would be deeply saddened by the loss of another
life," they said,
calling the execution "a very necessary reminder
that the citizens of this great state will not tolerate the murder of a Texas
peace officer and the death penalty imposed must send a loud and clear message
to those who would commit such an act."
QUOTE
2: Summary: On the
morning of March 29, 2001, Frank Garcia fatally shot uniformed San Antonio
Police Officer Hector Garza and Garcia's wife Jessica inside the home Garcia
shared with Jessica, their children, and Garcia's parents. After subsequently
firing several shots at others outside the Garcia residence, wounding one person,
and causing damage to a nearby elementary school, Garcia surrendered to police
and gave a formal, written statement in which he admitted to intentionally
killing both officer Garza and Jessica. The guilt-innocence phase of Garcia's
capital murder trial commenced on February 4, 2002. In addition to the
testimony summarized above, Garcia's jury also heard testimony from forensic
and firearms experts regarding (1) the MAC-10 semi-automatic weapon and the
Egyptian-made AK-47 assault rifle Garcia used to shoot Officer Garza and
Jessica, (2) ballistics evidence about the shell casings and bullet fragments
found at the crime scene, and (3) testimony regarding the blood, blood spatter,
and other trace evidence recovered from the crime scene and Garcia's clothing. The
foregoing testimony corroborated those portions of Garcia's written statement
in which he admitted to having emptied both the semi-automatic pistol and
assault rifle following his fatal shooting of Officer Garza and Jessica. The
defense presented no witnesses or other evidence during the guilt-innocence
phase of Garcia's capital murder trial. On February 8, 2002, after deliberating
less than three hours, Garcia's jury returned a verdict of guilty. The
autopsy of Officer Garza revealed (1) he died as a result of four gun shot
wounds, each of which would have been fatal alone, (2) the four shots struck
Garza, respectively, in the head, two in the back of the neck, and one in the
abdomen, which penetrated the lungs and aorta, (3) the shot through Garza's chest
was likely the first to strike him, (4) the shots to Garza's chest and head
came from a non-high-velocity weapon, and (5) the two shots which struck Garza
in the neck came from a high velocity weapon, exited through the skull, and
caused massive damage to the brain and cranial vault. The autopsy performed on
the body of Jessica Garcia revealed (1) she died as a result of three gunshot
wounds, only one of which would have been fatal alone, (2) the fatal gunshot
struck Jessica in the left forehead, fractured her orbital area, and penetrated
through the midbrain, (3) the two, non-fatal shots struck her in the right
cheek and her chin, (4) all the gunshots which struck Jessica came from a
non-high-velocity weapon, and (5) the latter two gunshot wounds likely struck
Jessica while she was down on the floor. Several witnesses testified to having
personally witnessed Garcia firing two different weapons at persons located
outside the Garcia residence on the morning of the fatal shootings. A friend of
Jessica testified (1) an emotional Jessica called her on the morning of the
fatal shootings and asked her to help Jessica move out, (2) after securing
assistance from John and Rosario Luna, she rode with the Lunas to Jessica's
residence, (3) Garcia's mother interfered with their efforts to help Jessica
remove clothing and other personal items from the Garcia residence, (4) she
overheard Jessica telling Garcia over the phone that Jessica was leaving him,
(5) Garcia arrived at the Garcia home before the police and Garcia grabbed
Jessica in a head lock and dragged her back inside the Garcia home, (6) moments
later a police officer walked inside the Garcia home, (7) a few minutes after
the officer entered the house, she heard three-to-four shots in rapid
succession come from inside the house, (8) after a pause, she heard a second
series of approximately three shots come from inside the house, (9) Garcia then
emerged from the house, pointed a firearm, and fired several shots, at least a
few of which struck their vehicle, (10) Garcia fired at her and John Luna as
they attempted to flee the scene toward a nearby elementary school, (11) Garcia
went back inside the house and she heard several more shots, (12) Garcia
emerged from the house a second time holding a big rifle and fired that weapon,
striking the truck behind which she was hiding, i.e., the same truck Garcia had
driven to the scene, and (13) she saw Garcia chasing after John Luna as she
fled for the safety of the school. The then-vice-principal of the nearby Emma
Frey Elementary School testified (1) she noticed a police vehicle in front of
the Garcia residence when she arrived at school around 7:30 that morning, (2)
she later noticed the police vehicle was gone when she saw Jessica outside the
Garcia residence between 8:45 and 8:50, (3) around nine a.m. she was alerted to
a problem by other staff, (4) as she exited the campus building near the Garcia
residence, she saw a man later identified for her as John Luna running toward
her who was yelling "Get out of here. He's shooting at everyone," (5)
she looked toward the Garcia residence and saw a man in the yard holding a
rifle, who then pointed it at her or in her direction, (6) as she and Luna
attempted to flee away from the Garcia residence, she heard four shots, (7) the
school custodian let her and Luna inside the school, (8) once inside the
school, she climbed to the second floor, ordered the school locked down,
telephoned school district police, and looked out and saw Garcia with the rifle
in the front yard of the Garcia residence walking away from the school, and (9)
subsequent examination of the school's exterior disclosed several indentations
in the front doors, as well as a hole in a window screen that had not been
present before the shootings. The San Antonio Police Officer who arrested
Garcia testified (1) he knocked repeatedly and announced himself before
entering the Garcia residence, (2) he heard a box of bullets hit the floor and
footsteps running his direction, (3) he heard a rifle racking and smelled
gunpowder and blood, (4) Garcia came out and pointed an assault rifle at him,
(5) when Garcia saw the officer's weapon, Garcia retreated, shouted "I
give up," and threw down his rifle, and (6) Garcia thereafter offered no
resistance. In his five-page, formal, written statement executed only hours
after the fatal shootings, Garcia admits he deliberately fired at officer
Garza's head multiple times and then turned his weapon on his wife.
The
San Antonio Police Department said in a statement on behalf of Garza's family that
the officer was a devoted husband and father committed to protecting his
community.
"Though the execution does not bring complete closure to
Hector's family, as we all miss him dearly, it comforts us to know that Frank
Garcia will never destroy another family," the statement said.
AUTHOR: Officer Hector Garza’s family –
Officer Hector Garza and Jessica Garcia was murdered by Frank Garcia in San
Antonio, Texas on 29 March 2001. Frank Garcia was executed by lethal injection
on Thursday 27 October 2011.
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