TABLES TURNED IN COURT: VICTIMS BECOME DEFENDANTS

By Juan Montoya
Just about a year ago, 18-year-old Stevie Ray Garcia went on a crime spree.
He stole a paddle boat and then picked houses along the shore of a resaca. By his own admission to police and detectives, he was a bit high and a bit drunk.

In all, he picked six houses along the resaca route and broke in to steal what he could.
But it was still early in the day and some of the occupants in the houses were just cooking breakfast or getting ready to head off for work.

In one house he surprised a woman cooking breakfast who threw a skillet of cooking food at him to scare him away. In another, he didn't realize that there was a young woman in the shower when he ransacked the house and piled the goods outside in the lawn by the resaca. What proved too cumbersome to load on the small foot-pedaled boat he ditched into the water.

When the police were finally called and arrested him, he readily admitted that he had perpetrated the break-ins of at least six residences.
He was arrested, arraigned, and then posted bond on the six charges of burglary of a habitation, as well as the failure to appear and a slew of other charges related to the incident and other unrelated ones such as evading arrest, accident involving damage with a vehicle, the attempts to commit burglary and criminal mischief between $1,500 and $20,000.

The residents of the neighborhood where Garcia was caught were told to make a list of the items that were missing from their homes and present receipts for possible restitution as victims.
One of the victims, Ezequiel Silva, a Cameron County supervisor, said he had to return to his home on the day of the burglary and saw many police cars at his neighbor's house. When he went to ask what had happened, Garcia was already in custody and told him he had broken into his home. Silva ran around to the back of the home and found a television and other electronic items piled up by the Resaca.

"..I am a victim where Mr. Stevie Ray Garcia burglarized my home," Silva wrote the judge in his victim-impact statement.
"He not only burglarized my home but five others totaling six homes in one morning. He tried be enter the homes though the back doors while people were preparing breakfast and inside. My daughter was taking a shower when he burglarized our home. It is my understanding this thief was also high on drugs. If it were not for the doors that were locked God only knows what this psycho would have done.


"Rape or kill someone...This is not a regular punk who just broke into a home once he made sure he stalked the homes of his choosing to burglarize with the intent to not only steal items but to steal our peace. My children are now scared this individual will be given probation so that he could come back and burglarize us again. No father should have to deal with his children feeling unprotected."

It was only after Silva and other residents were told that by providing the Cameron County D.A.'s Office with the receipts for restitution, that they were in effect approving the plea bargain with his attorney Ed Stapleton that the defendant would get probation.

"The DA's office, Luis V. Saenz, was willing to go along with 20 days in the county jail," Silva said. "He had been arrested since July 26 and had served 48 days already. He was going to walk out of the courthouse a free man."

"The DA never explained to us if we asked for restitution that he would get probation. None of my neighbors including Martin Kennedy want restitution. We want him to go to prison even if it's only for a short time."
Stapleton, representing Garcia, called Silva to the stand to explain his letter and quickly wanted him to state on the record that he had opposed Saenz politically and had supported his opponent Carlos Masso with a campaign contribution in the last election for DA. When Silva asked what that had to do with his victim statement, Stapleton charged that his claims in the letter were "political" and pressed him for his own criminal history.

"Isn't it true that you were convicted of a felony (DWI)?" Stapleton pressed.
"That was 22 years ago and I have turned my life around," Silva countered. "I have a family, have  a successful business and provide for my family through my work. (Garcia) doesn't have a job, and has a kid he doesn't support. I learned my lesson. He needs to learn his."

At this point Magallanes asked in open court whether the fact that he might impose a prison sentence on Garcia would make the DA go after him as well, and Stapleton demurred.
Asst. DA Art Teniente looked on in amazement as Stapleton parried with Silva. Afterwards, he told the victims that he hadn't expected them to be grilled by the defense attorney.

"He told us he was blind-sided," Silva said later.
Silva noted that Stapleton has been an ardent Saenz supporter in previous elections. As a former DA Outreach Specialist, Silva worked with Saenz and was privy to some of the innermost workings of the department.

"No one knew the details of my history except for Luis," he said. "I'm very surprised that Stapleton would use them to try to discredit the victims. He made us feel like we were the defendants instead of Garcia."

The break-in while his daughter was in the shower made Silva install cameras in his back yard in different locations as well in the front adding an additional cost of over $3,000. He also said he upgraded the system with another alarm speaker outside the house so the neighbors could hear it.
"I hope the DA never gets his home broken into. The feeling is overwhelming. As a man it makes you feel that you have let your family down….that you weren’t able to protect them."

"I pray that you (Judge Magallanes) sentence Stevie Ray Garcia to state prison for a short period of time and not county jail like the state recommends," Silva wrote. "County is a joke and he will be out in no time burglarizing homes again or maybe rape or kill an innocent victim next time. He maybe 19 but look into his eyes...he is a spoiled selfish brat that has no regard for others."

After the victims' statements and the cross-examination by Stapleton, Magallanes agreed with the victims an sentenced Garcia to two years in the Texas Corrections System.
He is now incarcerated at the county's Rucker-Carrizales facility in Olmito awaiting transfer to a state facility.