Two top Tulare County elected officials are speaking out against a decision by Gov. Gavin Newsom to grant clemency to a man who participated in the murder of an 18-year-old man in 2009.
Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward and Sheriff Mike Boudreaux condemned Newsom for the decision.
The backstory: Richard Garcia and three other Norteño gang members went hunting for rival gang members on Aug. 28, 2009.
- They armed themselves with a gun and drove their car to look for rivals.
- The victim, Arturo Bello, was wearing a blue shirt and walking on the side of the road near Orosi with a friend.
- Garcia’s co-defendant left their car and fired several shots at Bello and his friend, killing Bello.
- Garcia later admitted to law enforcement that he knew the co-defendant had a gun and that it would be used while looking for opposing gang members.
- In 2011, a jury found Garcia guilty of second-degree murder and conspiracy, along with other special allegations.
- He was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison, but had his sentence reduced to 40 years to life on appeal.
Driving the news: Newsom accepted Garcia’s plea for clemency last Friday and commuted his sentence.
- That means Garcia is now eligible for a parole hearing and could be released from prison.
What they’re saying: “With the swipe of a pen, the governor voided the decision of the jury and the multiple decisions of Tulare County judges, jurists who presided where the crime took place, heard witness testimony, and understood the impact to the community,” Ward said.
- He continued, “The defendant is only one third of the way into a 40 year-to-life sentence for a cold-blooded violent crime. By his own admission, he and his co-defendants went looking to inflict violence that evening in 2009. They were literally hunting other human beings.”
- Ward said his office will be present and argue against Garcia’s release at any future parole hearing.
- Boudreaux told Nexstar that Garcia has proven to be a threat to society.
- “I think that his history shows that he’s a potential danger to the community,” Boudreaux told Nexstar. “And that’s what we have to hold to.”
