Convicted rapist gets maximum sentence
A former Las Vegas firefighter convicted of raping a then 16-year-old girl has been sentenced to the maximum time in prison allowed by law.
District Court Judge Gerald Baca sentenced David Garcia, 48, to 15 years in prison, with three years of the sentence suspended, according to Fourth Judicial District Attorney Tom Clayton.
A jury convicted Garcia April 1 on one count of criminal sexual penetration of a child.
Garcia was taken into custody following the guilty verdict, and booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center. The time he serves at SMCDC will be credited toward his prison sentence, Clayton said, and once the judgment and sentence are entered into court record, Garcia will be transferred to the custody of the New Mexico Corrections Department. That transfer should take place sometime this week, according to Clayton.
“(The case) was declared a serious violent offense under our statutes, which means he must serve a minimum of 85 percent,” Clayton said. “The three years that are suspended, he will be on supervised probation as well, so he’ll be on what’s called dual supervision of probation and parole.”
In order to be released after serving 85 percent of the sentence, Garcia would have to earn what’s called “good time,” credited time earned by exhibiting good behavior while incarcerated. Garcia will also have to register as a sex offender upon release.
The rape occurred in 2016, and was reported to police in 2018. The girl told police she was awoken by Garcia when he began touching and tickling her, before penetrating her vagina with his fingers.
Garcia was initially arrested and charged on Oct. 4, 2018. The case was transferred to District Court in February 2019. In February of this year, a jury trial was scheduled, and following a three-day trial in late March — and several hours of deliberation — the jury found Garcia guilty.
“We are satisfied with the verdict from the jury, first and foremost, and with the ruling of the judge,” Clayton said. “He weighed all the facts, and we believe the sentence is appropriate.”
