24-Year-Old Coachella Valley Man Sentenced To Death For 4 Killings

The sentence was imposed Friday by a judge who said it was one of the most difficult cases he has presided over.

By City News Service

COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — A 24-year-old man who killed four people in Palm Springs, including a 17-year-old girl, was sentenced Friday to death.

Jose Vladimir Larin-Garcia of Cathedral City was convicted Feb. 6, 2023, of murder for carrying out the Feb. 3, 2019, killings of Jacob Montgomery, 19; Juan Duarte Raya, 18; Yuliana Garcia, 17; and Carlos Campos Rivera, 25.

Jurors also found true a special-circumstance allegation of lying in wait and multiple murders as well as sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations. Jurors returned a unanimous verdict on Feb. 24, 2023, recommending a death sentence for the defendant.

Before the sentence was imposed Friday morning at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Anthony Villalobos denied the defense's motions, one each for a new trial and to modify the death penalty verdict. Rivera's son, Yuliana Garcia's mom Maria Morales, and Larin-Garcia's mom Yudis Garcia shared statements during the hearing.

Deputy District Attorney Samantha Paixao first read the statement from Rivera's son, who was 10 years old when his father was killed.

"Larin-Garcia, did you know that he was supposed to pick me up the next day to take me to the park? It was his day with me. That day never came. It destroyed me," Paixao said in tears before the court went on a brief break, and then continued "you took that day away from me. You monster. I'm angry. Ten and a half years was not enough time for me."

Morales spoke about how hard it has been for her to lose her daughter, saying she has cried every day since the shooting.

Yudis Garcia said that as a mother, she understands the pain that was inflicted on the victims and their families, but she asked that they also understand the pain she's going through, because the defendant is her son.

"This decision that has been taken in regards to him I don't believe is fair. I don't believe there's enough proof for my son to be accused in this way," Yudis Garcia said. "Please sir, do not cause an injustice like the jury did. ... This is not a game, it's someone else's life. ... I understand the lady's pain, but he also should not be judged without complete certainty because I know my son didn't do this."

Villalobos said it was one of the most difficult cases he has presided over, noting how tragic it has been for the victims' and defendant's families. He said he understands the pain from everyone involved in the case.

He imposed the sentence immediately after.

Prosecutors said Larin-Garcia was sitting in a stopped car with Montgomery, Raya and Garcia on the night of the killings, and first fatally shot Rivera, who was leaning against the stopped vehicle.

After that shooting, the driver of the car sped off, but Larin-Garcia — who was in the back seat -— then fatally shot the trio inside the vehicle and jumped from the moving car before it crashed into a parked Jeep at Sunny Dunes and El Placer roads.

Montgomery, Raya and Garcia were found in the crashed Toyota Corolla around 11:40 p.m., while Rivera was found on a street about a half-mile away, according to prosecutors.

Larin-Garcia was found near the scene of the crime and taken to a hospital, but he left after being questioned by Palm Springs police, going to a friend's house. Detective Steve Grissom testified that the friend went to Larin-Garcia's mother's home to retrieve fresh clothing and an ID card for the defendant.

Later in the day, the friend also bought bandages for Larin-Garcia, along with a Greyhound bus ticket to Florida under the name "Joseph Browning," Grissom testified.

At some point that day, Larin-Garcia shaved his head to change his appearance, then the friend drove him to the bus station in Indio, where Larin-Garcia was arrested, Grissom testified.

https://patch.com/california/palmdes...for-4-killings