Judge chooses not to raise Joel Garcia’s bond
A judge has denied the prosecution’s request to raise the bond for Joel Garcia.
Garcia was released early last month after posting bond.
Prosecutors on Thursday, Dec. 3, asked Judge gonzalo Garcia to reconsider a higher bond because the Garcia had failed to show up for a hearing on a different case.
The state is arguing Garcia remains a threat to the community and should not be out of jail.
Prosecutors pointed to Garcia’s past criminal record, which included a DWI arrest in April 2014.
While still on bond for that charge, he allegedly drove drunk again — killing brothers Joshua and Isaiah Deal and Shannon del Rio on Christmas Eve 2014.
Judge Garcia said that Garcia has paid his debt to society for the April 2014 DWI arrest — he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to time served in that case — and Garcia is currently being monitored six times a day by blowing into an interlock device equipped with GPS.
The judge reminded the court that Garcia is allowed to remain out on bond while the state appeals the judge’s ruling that threw out Garcia’s blood test from the Dec. 24 traffic collision.
The judge called the prosecution’s case “shallow.”
Blood Sample Taken Without Warrant
The ABC-7 I Team obtained a copy of the state’s lab report pertaining to Garcia’s blood sample. It state’s Garcia’s blood alcohol content was .268, which is more than three times the legal limit.
The toxicology exam also found traces of cocaine found in Garcia’s blood.
Earlier this year, a judge decided prosecutors would not be able to present Garcia’s blood sample as evidence.
The decision was made after three officers testified they got the sample without a warrant.
The officers said they had to act because nurses were about to give Garcia medication, which would have altered his blood chemistry.
According to police, Garcia was driving a 2010 silver Camaro with Enrique Gaurin as a front seat passenger south on Joe Battle, approaching a red light at the intersection with Vista Del Sol at 1:46 a.m. Dec. 24, 2014.
Garcia entered the intersection against the red light and collided with a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am that was eastbound on Vista Del Sol.
As a result of the T-bone collision a back seat male passenger was ejected from the second vehicle and both vehicles caught fire.
Garcia was arrested for DWI with blood alcohol content greater than or equal to .15 in April 2014 in a separate case. He pleaded guilty to that case this fall and was sentenced to time served. He then posted bond in the other case.
Garcia also was arrested on Feb. 14, 2010 for minor in possession of alcohol and having an open alcohol container in a vehicle. He was granted a program deferral in the case minor in possession of alcohol case but court records do not show what happened in the open container case.
