Suspect in 2010 Murder on Montebello Drive Has Long Criminal History

Russell Edward Garcia, 31, was arraigned on charges of murder and assault with a deadly weapon at the South County Morgan Hill Courthouse on Friday. Garcia had no bail set on the murder charge, and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 7 to enter a plea, according to David Boyd, deputy district attorney for the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. 

The charges were filed on Jan. 25, after Gilroy detectives identified Garcia as the suspect in the.

Garcia has a long criminal history, and was already serving time in jail before the murder and assault charges were added to his record, which includes over a dozen offenses.

The charges include second-degree robbery, being armed with a firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm, robbery of a motor vehicle for hire, carjacking, attempted harming, interfering with or obstructing a police officer's horse or dog, and resisting arrest, according to Lisa McCrary, spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

Garcia is also facing three misdemeanor charges including two for domestic violence. The two domestic violence incidents occurred in San Jose in March and May of 2010 and were pending against him.

“Those cases date from back in 2010 before he was arrested on several counts of armed robbery. He was in custody on the armed robbery charges since May 2010, when we charged him with the murder this month,” Boyd wrote in a prepared statement.

The third misdemeanor charge is for petty theft, paraphernalia and being under the influence, and stems from an October 2009 case in San Jose. Those charges will be considered at a pre-trial conference on Feb. 2., which is the date Garcia is scheduled to appear in court for the two domestic violence cases.

Garcia was in court Monday morning for sentencing on the armed robberies, and is expected to have sentencing continued for these charges, Boyd said.

Garcia is expected to enter a plea for the charges of murder and assault with a deadly weapon on Feb. 7 at 1:30 p.m. in dept. 90 at the South County Morgan Hill Courthouse, Boyd said. 

Bay City News contributed to this report.