Family Reacts to Gangland Execution Plea Bargain

Six uniformed deputies and an investigator for the District Attorney’s Office stood guard in the gallery on Monday as capital murderer Johnny Garcia entered Judge Barbara Walther’s courtroom in chains.

Over 20 people had gathered in the small space, many of which sat erect in their seats with their fists balled and teeth clenched as they eyed the 19-year-old between his lawyers.

Garcia, who has been awaiting trial since he shot and killed 22-year-olds Alvaro Carrillo, Jr. and Tabitha Freeman on Sept. 1, 2013 in a gangland-style execution, placed his hands over his nose and mouth with his elbows propped up on the table as Judge Walther went over the reason for the hearing. He had come to enter a plea.

Having been informed of the impromptu hearing only two hours prior, families of both victims had filled the courtroom by 2:30 p.m. and waited to hear Garcia’s plea as his attorneys, John Young and Theodore “Tip” Hargrove, explained to the court their reasons for the hearing.

Referencing the capital murder trial of Garcia's accomplice, 18-year-old Daniel Uvalle, that took place in February, Hargrove told the court he, Young and Garcia had reviewed the testimonies of the state’s key witnesses and noted that she had already had the opportunity to “test” her case before a jury.

“Frankly, the rumor was the death penalty might go back on the table,” Hargrove said. He stated District Attorney Allison Palmer had only told him that “final punishment decisions had not yet been made” and would depend upon decisions made by the defense.

Young was appointed to the case mid-October last year, after the Palmer filed a notice of intent to waive the death penalty, resulting in Garcia’s previous counsel withdrawing from the case. Hargrove stayed on as second chair.

“There are only two punishments; one is death and the other is life without parole,” Young said. “In this instance, the state had waived the death penalty back in October. For a year and four months, they had intended to seek the death penalty.

“During the Uvalle trial, the witnesses that testified—the eyewitnesses—we were able to obtain the transcripts of that testimony and that testimony was very damning to Johnny….of course we expect that those witnesses would testify the same in Johnny’s trial,” Young continued. “So after that trial, the state began to reconsider its waiver of the death penalty…”

Young said that the testimony of the witnesses from Uvalle’s trial, if believed by a jury, would almost certainly have resulted in a conviction. With the death penalty up in the air and a motion to revoke probation on an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge and two additional aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges pending, Garcia chose enter the plea bargain.

Pausing briefly between questions from the judge, Garcia sniffled and said “guilty” when Walther asked for his plea on the capital murder charge. He also pled “true” to his motion to revoke probation and had the other two counts of aggravated assault dismissed.

Before sentencing, Young told the court Garcia would like to address the court, and Walther granted him audience. Garcia was not permitted to turn and face the families, but he spoke to them anyway, expressing what they later called “fake remorse” uttered only because he’s been busted and will be heading off to prison.

“I want y’all to know I would never have done this…” Garcia said as several of Carrillo’s family members stood up and walked out. “Those of you that know me, I just want to ask that y’all forgive me. I’m speaking to those that know me. Y’all know I would never do something like this to my friend. I’m so sorry.”

Following his elocution, Judge Barbara Walther sentenced Garcia to life without parole for the capital murder charge and 10 years for the motion to revoke (MTR) probation for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A fine of $1,500 was assessed for the MTR and $7,239.29 was set for the capital murder. The two aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges were dismissed.

After the sentence was assessed, mother of victim Tabitha Freeman, Karen Freeman, stood to give her victim's impact statement. She asked Garcia to turn and face her, which he did, and told him with burning resentment what she thought of him.

“…as far as I’m concerned, you’re a piece of garbage that should be incinerated,” Freeman said. “I hope you see her (Tabitha) laying there every time you close your eyes. I hope you hear her voice and I hope you rot in that jail.”

Recalling her daughter as a sweet and loving young girl with her whole life ahead of her, Freeman told Garcia he’d taken two lives that night—her daughter’s and her own—and finished by telling him she felt he was a useless drain on society wasting taxpayers’ money.

Alvaro Carrillo, Sr., the father of the second victim, spoke next on behalf of his son.

“I just wanted to say that my son was a pretty good young man,” Carrillo said, noting how Alvaro had been working with him for about a year when Garcia pulled the trigger on him. “I just want you to understand that when you killed him, you killed a lot of people…”

Talking of the piece missing from the family since his son was killed, Carrillo said to Garcia, “You’re just going to disappear. You’re going to be forgotten…I hope every time you get into something you think about them because you pay for what you get.”

Garcia had been a long-time friend of the Carrillo family and was often referred to as a “brother” by Alvaro, who he shot and killed. The closeness of that relationship was one of the most difficult aspects about the murder, Carrillo’s family said.

“It’s just hard because he was a friend of the family,” Carrillo’s sister, Amanda Carrillo said.

“We took him in like family and for him to do that and then to apologize like that…” said Josie Duarte, Alvaro Carrillo’s aunt. “It didn’t mean nothing to him. It didn’t mean nothing to us either. Because if you were a friend and a true brother like he said he was, you wouldn’t do that to someone. He’s just scared. He knows what he did.”

Despite the difficulty of trying to comprehend the actions of someone that had been so close, the family said they felt like justice was done, and most were happy with the sentence.

“All we wanted was justice and we got it,” Manuel Duarte said. “We’re happy with the verdict. We can now just go on.”

Karen Freeman also expressed relief that the hearing had effectively ended the proceedings, and felt that justice was finally served.

“The last two weeks have really been rough for me,” Freeman said. “I have just been careful and I cannot get my nerves to calm down. I am not sleeping. This is actually what I was hoping for because I also don’t want to use my tax money for that. I just don’t want Tabitha to ever be forgotten.”