Gang member sentenced for first degree murder in Boone County

Boone County State’s Attorney Michelle J. Courier announced Ricardo Garcia was sentenced to 37 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on Monday, Nov. 14.

In September, a Boone County jury returned a guilty verdict of first degree murder and mob action.

Prosecutors presented evidence that Garcia drove two others, Ricardo Figueroa and another defendant, to a vehicle in which Galicia and others were sitting and waited while Galicia was shot and killed.

While Garcia did not fire a gun, his actions were proven to have promoted and facilitated the shooting.  Prosecutors provided further evidence that Garcia was a gang member and that the killing was gang related.

“The verdict and the sentence against Garcia demonstrated my office’s commitment to Boone County to aggressively prosecute gang violence,” Boone County State’s Attorney Michelle Courier said.  “We ensured justice was served by holding all those responsible for the violence accountable. Our zero tolerance policy against gang-related crime had been a highlight of my administration.”

The First Degree Murder conviction requires Garcia to serve 100 percent of the sentence.

Figueroa was previously convicted following a jury trial of the first degree murder charge, along with two counts of attempt first degree murder of a passenger in the vehicle, possession of a firearm by a street gang member, and mob action and is serving 76 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.