The man who killed a 16-year-old boy riding his bike home from a convenience store in Philadelphia has been convicted.
Luis Garcia shot and killed Jonathan Rosa Camacho on Jan. 4, 2021.
Garcia was a passenger riding in a Subaru Legacy when he saw Jonathan on the 4200 block of Fairhill Street in North Philly as he rode his bike. As the vehicle passed the 16-year-old, Garcia shot him eight times.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced Garcia’s conviction on March 13 after he was found guilty last week of first-degree murder.
The 33-year-old was also found guilty of possessing an instrument of crime and illegal firearm violations. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Garcia was also given a consecutive term of 4.5 to 12 years of state incarceration by the judge.
Garcia was apprehended after the investigation uncovered surveillance video that captured him in a Chinese food store nearby the scene shortly before the killing. He was wearing “very distinct footwear and a plainly visible cross-body pack.” Video footage also showed Garcia wearing the same items as he fled from the scene in the Subaru after shooting Camacho.
Philadelphia Police Department detectives saw the same Subaru Legacy in the neighborhood approximately one week after the shooting and obtained search warrants. The vehicle was registered to Eric Santiago, Garcia’s co-defendant and driver on the night of the fatal shooting. The bodypack Garcia wore on the night of the shooting was reportedly found in the vehicle search.
The PPD claims that after being Mirandized, Garcia admitted to shooting and killing Camacho because he thought he was an associate of another person he planned to kill.
“It was determined during this interrogation that Garcia gunned down the teen because he believed Camacho was associated with another individual that Garcia was targeting for murder.”
District Attorney Larry Krasner said that the streets of Philadelphia were safer following the conviction. “The streets of Philadelphia are safer,” said Krasner. “With this conviction and sentencing, my office continues to send the message to those who may be contemplating senseless acts of violence: You will be caught and convicted.”
“This was a senseless act of violence that took the life of a 16-year-old boy from this world,” said Assistant District Attorney Helen Park. “My thanks to Jonathan’s family for their patience and faith in a system that although imperfect, did achieve justice in this case.”
The teenager’s family gave a victim impact statement during Garcia’s sentencing hearing and said his death has left a hole that could never be filled.
“We wish we could have been there to hold Jonathan so he wouldn’t be alone while taking his last breath,” read the statement.
“At such a young age, Jonathan did everything he could to protect his mother and family. He had so many hopes and dreams about what he wanted to be in the future and what he wanted to do to make sure his mother and family were taken care of. His loss has pierced a hole in our family that will never be filled again.”
