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A McAllen man was sentenced to a little over seven years in federal prison following his conviction for robbery of a motor vehicle with intent to cause serious harm or death, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez handed down the sentence for 35-year-old Fidel Garza Jr. on Thursday.
“At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence regarding Garza’s criminal history, including prior felony convictions for discharging a firearm in 2016 and being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2021,” the release said.
On Nov. 25, 2021, Garza was on the 1200 block of 28th Street riding in the passenger seat of a truck that pulled in front of a 2012 Buick Enclave driven by a 67-year-old man traveling with three minors.
Garza then exited the truck wearing a black and white bandana, pointed a black handgun at the driver and demanded he and his passengers get out of the vehicle.
“Fearing for their lives, they complied,” the release said.
Garza entered the vehicle and fled the scene.
Authorities were able to track down the stolen vehicle to a ranch located at 21604 N. Val Verde Road using a GPS application named Life360 that was on the phone of one of the minors which was left inside the Buick.
In December that same year, police arrested Garza who admitted to investigators he participated in the crime because he was about to lose his home to back taxes, according to a probable cause affidavit.
According to authorities, Garza believed the Buick to have been loaded with cash.
