Jury finds Izaiah Garcia guilty of first-degree depraved mind murder

Olivier Uyttebrouck, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
·3 min read

Aug. 2—ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A jury on Monday found Izaiah Garcia guilty of first-degree depraved mind murder in the shooting death of a 17-year-old Sandia High School student outside a homecoming party in 2019.

The 2nd Judicial District Court jury also found Garcia, 20, guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for shooting at a second man described by prosecutors as the intended target of the shooting.

Sean Markey was fatally shot by a single round after he and a friend left the party and were waiting for a ride home, witnesses testified last week.

Markey was struck by a stray bullet outside the house party in Northwest Albuquerque on Sept. 29, 2019, and later died at a hospital.

"We are just happy that Sean got justice today," said Tara Ross, who identified herself as Markey's legal guardian.

"He was the sweetest kid," Ross said. "We have just been praying for justice for him and we are glad we got it today."

Markey's parents sat clutching a photo of Sean as the judge read the verdict shortly before 11 a.m. Monday. Jurors reached a verdict after deliberating less than six hours in all on Friday afternoon and Monday morning.

"I'm very, very pleased and happy and satisfied for the family," Deputy District Attorney John Duran said after the verdict was read.

"Nothing like this will ever bring their son back, but at least they can get a little peace of mind and some justice," Duran said.

In a separate case, Garcia is charged with first-degree murder for the 2019 shooting death of Cayla Campos, 21, who was playing Pokemon GO with her boyfriend when her car was sprayed with bullets.

Campos was killed Oct. 18, 2019, less than three weeks after Markey's killing. That trial is scheduled to begin in December.

For the verdict reached Monday, Garcia faces a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison for his conviction on a count of first-degree depraved-mind murder, Duran said.

He faces an additional 2 1/2 years for his conviction on the second count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a fourth-degree felony, for shooting at Christian Mattock outside the party, Duran said.

A sentencing hearing had not been scheduled Monday.

Duran said during the trial that Markey's death stemmed from a years-old dispute between Garcia and Mattock that became violent after the two showed up at the same party in the 3900 block of Garcia NE, near Montgomery and Eubank.

Garcia confronted Mattock in the street outside the party, drew a pistol and began chasing and shooting at Mattock as he ran down the street, Duran told jurors last week.

Mattock was uninjured by the gunfire, but one round ricocheted off a driveway and struck Markey as he and a friend were sitting on a landscape rock waiting for a ride.

Garcia's attorney, Nicole Moss, told jurors that the prosecution's case was weak because at least seven people were firing guns on Garcia NE at the time Markey was shot.

Moss said prosecutors could not show that Garcia fired the fatal round because at least five people were shooting 9mm guns, which is the type of round that fatally struck Markey.

Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting

Recommended Stories

  • Man found guilty of murdering 39-day-old son

    James Dean Clark, 31, had denied being responsible for the death of his infant son.

  • Tencent tumbles after China media calls online gaming "spiritual opium"

    SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Tencent Holdings Ltd shares were on track to fall by their most in a decade on Tuesday after a Chinese state media outlet branded online video games "spiritual opium", stoking concern that the sector may be next in regulators' crosshairs. China's biggest social media and video game firm saw its stock tumble more than 10% in morning trade, wiping almost $60 billion from its market capitalisation. Shares of rival NetEase Inc slumped as much as 15.7%, while those of game developer XD Inc and mobile gaming company GMGE Technology Group Ltd also plunged.

  • Death, Hazmat investigation under investigation near Boston hotel

    Police say there is an active death investigation-- with potentially hazardous materials-- near the Marriott Copley hotel. Emergency crews responded to a parking garage located at 110 Huntington Ave. just after 3:30 a.m. Officials say it is too early to tell if the death is considered suspicious.

  • Black man assaulted at Indiana lake faces criminal charges

    A Black man who said a group of white men assaulted him and threatened to “get a noose” at a southern Indiana lake is facing criminal charges more than a year after the confrontation that earlier led to charges against two of the alleged attackers. Vauhxx Booker, a local civil rights activist and member of the Monroe County Human Rights Commission, was charged with misdemeanor trespass and felony battery for his involvement in last year’s Fourth of July incident at Lake Monroe, according to court documents filed Friday by a special prosecutor in the case. Booker condemned the decision, calling it an “outrageous act of punitive retaliation and prosecutorial vindictiveness.”

  • Online creator Chris Chan arrested on incest charge after leaked audio alleged she had sex with her mother

    Christine Weston Chandler, known online as Chris Chan, has been arrested on charges of incest after a leaked call spread online.

  • ‘Who is it?’ Woman answering door shot 5 times in hail of 75 bullets, Illinois cops say

    Suspects crashed a stolen vehicle while escaping and are still at large, police said.

  • North Dakota man to stand trial in attack that killed 4

    It was one of the most gruesome mass killings in North Dakota history; four workers at a business who gathered early one morning for “coffee club” were slain in a matter of minutes. The ghastly 2019 scene that gripped Mandan, a community of 22,000 just outside the state capital of Bismarck, is set to be rehashed this week at the trial of Chad Isaak, a Navy veteran and chiropractor whose trailer home is managed by the business police say he “targeted.” Investigators say the evidence against Isaak is overwhelming, including clothing, handgun parts, a knife and used shell casings, surveillance footage, bank records, and Facebook and phone data.

  • Ahmaud Arbery’s Killers Are Trying to Put Him on Trial. Will a Judge Let Them?

    Glynn County Detention Center via APThe trial of three men charged in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery is slated to begin in October. But if a Georgia Superior Court judge grants a series of requests made by attorneys for the defense, it will be Arbery who goes on trial.Lawyers for Gregory and Travis McMichael—the father and son, respectively, who chased down Arbery in their pickup truck before fatally shooting him three times at close range—filed a motion late last year requesting that Judge Timoth

  • Idaho Rep. Priscilla Giddings demonstrates the unbecoming conduct she’s accused of

    If only Giddings had been around to listen to the wise words of fellow Republican legislator Julie Yamamoto. │ Opinion

  • High-ranking Democratic lawmaker in New Mexico House resigns amid allegations of fraud

    A high-ranking New Mexico Democratic state lawmaker has resigned amid a federal investigation into possible fraud, racketeering, illegal kickbacks and money laundering.Driving the news: Sheryl Williams Stapleton stepped down Friday as New Mexico's House majority leader, and from her seat, after state and federal authorities served subpoenas on an Albuquerque school district where Stapleton is employed.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.Stapleton works as d

  • Feds free trucker who drove 2,270 pounds of pot across the border – and says he didn't know it

    A Canadian trucker who told federal authorities he had no idea he was hauling 2,270 pounds of marijuana in his truck was released this week.

  • German court sets trial date for former Nazi guard, aged 100

    A German court has set a trial date for a 100-year-old man who is charged with 3,518 counts of accessory to murder on allegations he served as a Nazi SS guard at a concentration camp on the outskirts of Berlin during World War II. A spokeswoman for the Neuruppin state court said Monday that the trial is set to begin in early October. The suspect is alleged to have worked at the Sachsenhausen camp between 1942 and 1945 as an enlisted member of the Nazi Party’s paramilitary wing.

  • Video appearing to show Detroit officer punching man prompts investigation

    Detroit police said they are aware of "an allegation of excessive force in Greektown" and are reviewing the circumstances, officials said.

  • Daughter of rape victim helps bring conviction 46 years on

    A man who raped a 13-year-old girl has been convicted 46 years later, after the daughter conceived during his attack led efforts to bring him to justice.

  • Retired Sugar Land PD officer shoots neighbor during argument

    Investigators say a retired Sugar Land police officer shot his neighbor because he refused to leave his property. So far, no one is facing charges.

  • Boston woman dies while hiking in Arizona

    The woman, who was in her 30s, was found near a home and authorities believe she might have been seeking help before she died.

  • Black man faced ‘horrible conditions’ before dying at Rikers, report finds

    Thomas Earl Braunson III, a 35-year-old new father, had been jailed and held in “horrible conditions” when he died behind […] The post Black man faced ‘horrible conditions’ before dying at Rikers, report finds appeared first on TheGrio.

  • 3 dead, 1 hurt in rural South Carolina shooting

    Three people were killed and one other person was hurt in a shooting Monday in rural South Carolina, and deputies released the name and picture of a man they want to interview. The shooting happened around 3 p.m. at a Greenwood County home just off U.S. Highway 25 about 8 miles (13 kilometers) south of Greenwood, the Sheriffs Office said in a news release. Sheriff’s Office Maj. Cody Bishop confirmed the three killed in the shooting to The Index-Journal of Greenwood. He didn't give a motive for the shooting.

  • ‘Precious souls’: Family members remember children whose remains were found in car trunk in Baltimore County

    BALTIMORE — Larry Darnell O’Neil III and his sister were inseparable. The boy also loved taking car rides with his grandfather and playing at the park, Larry’s paternal grandmother, LaQuata M. Pitts O’Neil of Ohio, remembered Sunday, while his sister, Joshlyn Marie James Johnson, enjoyed baking cookies and cake with her. “They were such good kids,” the grandmother said. “They were soft-spoken, ...

  • Kris Wu, arrested on suspicion of rape, faces LIFE imprisonment if convicted

    Chinese Canadian actor and singer Kris Wu was arrested on suspicion of rape weeks after a young woman came forward to accuse him of targeting herself and others. The allegations: In a statement on Saturday, police in Beijing’s Chaoyang District said they have detained the 30-year-old, whose real name is Wu Yifan, in response to reports that he “has repeatedly tricked young women into having sex” and “other related issues.” The arrest comes a week after police revealed that Wu had lied about his relationship with teen influencer Du Meizhu, according to the South China Morning Post.