BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A judge has sentenced a man who pleaded guilty to a Harlingen homicide that stemmed from a dispute over cockfighting money to 40 years in prison.
Adrian Garcia was sentenced Wednesday by Judge Juan Magallanes of Cameron County’s 357th District Court in Brownsville after pleading guilty Oct. 7 to the 2019 murder of Ezequiel Garza.
On August 18, 2019, the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department responded to a homicide call in Harlingen.
When deputies arrived, they found Garza’s body in a blue SUV parked in the driveway. Garza’s body was slumped forward against the steering wheel with multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office, which took over the case.
Based on witness statements, an investigation was launched and “it was determined that Adrian Garcia intentionally killed Ezequiel Garza as a result of a dispute over money bet on a cockfight,” the DA’s office said.
“This was a particularly brutal act of violence because the evidence showed that the victim was trying to leave the scene when he was shot,” Cameron County District Attorney Louis W. Saenz said Thursday.