Juan Garcia was executed by the State of Texas for a robbery murder. According to court documents Juan Garcia would shoot and kill Hugo Solano during a robbery that netted Garcia $8.00. Juan Garcia would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Juan Garcia More News
A convicted killer in Texas was executed on Tuesday for fatally shooting another man in a robbery that yielded just $8.
No late appeals were filed for Juan Martin Garcia, who was lethally injected for the September 1998 killing and robbery of Hugo Solano in Houston. Solano, a Christian missionary from Guadalajara, Mexico, had moved his family to the city just weeks earlier so his children could be educated in the US.
Juan Garcia, 35, apologized to Solano’s relatives in Spanish ahead of the execution. Solano’s wife and daughter sobbed and told the inmate they loved him.
“The harm that I did to your dad and husband I hope this brings you closure,” he said. “I never wanted to hurt any of you all.”
He told his sister and several friends in English that he loved them. “No matter what, remember my promise,” Garcia said. “No matter what, I will always be with you.”
As the dose of pentobarbital began, he winced, raised his head and then shook it. He gurgled once and snored once before his movement stopped. He was pronounced dead 12 minutes later, at 6.26pm CDT.
In an interview with the Associated Press last month, Garcia acknowledged he shot Solano but denied the robbery, an accompanying felony that made it a capital case.
Garcia, who was linked to at least eight aggravated robberies and two attempted murders in the weeks before and after Solano’s death, also insisted jurors had unfairly penalized him because he didn’t take the witness stand in his own defense at trial.
The US supreme court refused to review Garcia’s case in March. The Texas pardon and parole board, in a 5-2 vote, refused a clemency request from Garcia last week.
The execution was the 11th this year in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any other US state.
Evidence at the 2000 trial and testimony from a companion identified Garcia, who was 18 at the time of the killing and a street gang member, as the ringleader of four men involved in Solano’s shooting and robbery. The slaying and string of other violent crimes tied to Garcia convinced a Harris county jury he should be put to death.
Three more Texas inmates are scheduled for executions in upcoming weeks.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/07/texas-executes-juan-martin-garcia-over-8-robbery-and
