Justice for the Garcia Family Jesus Benito Garcia, Sr., tragically lost his life on March 9,
the family was compelled to file a lawsuit before the civil
Moran, a Bexar County Sheriff’s deputy. For over 18 months,
initiated the lawsuit in the Western District of Texas, nam-
2020, in Elmendorf, Texas, due to a fatal shooting by Brandin
TRLA worked with Mr. Garcia’s widow and five adult children to address various issues arising from the incident’s after-
math. The family sought mental health and grief counseling services and initiated efforts to uncover the truth behind
case’s statute of limitations expired. On March 3, 2022, TRLA ing both the deputy and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office as defendants. Following this, on March 21, Deputy Moran was indicted for manslaughter by a Bexar County grand jury.
fate.
Unexpectedly, on March 25, mere-
faced consistent denials, even
the Bexar County District Attorney
Mr.
Garcia’s
unfortunate
ly four days after the indictment,
Despite persistent attempts, they
denied access to Mr. Garcia’s autopsy report.
It was not until more than a year
after the incident and multiple re-
“Jesus Garcia was killed in his own home by an officer who issued no warningwho fired hius gun 10
jected requests under the Public
seconds after banging in."
nally obtained the chance to view
- MATT GARCIA, STAFF
Information Act that the family fibodycam footage and hear por-
tions of other related documents during a meeting with the Bexar
ATTORNEY TEXAS RIO GRANDE LEGAL AID
County District Attorney’s Civil Rights division.
dropped the manslaughter charges against the deputy. Further-
more, the District Attorney’s office opted to represent the deputy in TRLA’s civil litigation.
In April 2022, during a pre-trial
discovery conference, TRLA suggested settlement discussions with
the defendants before proceeding
with litigation. This was met with a definitive “no.” As the litigation pro-
gressed, Bexar County eventually provided bodycam footage, shed-
Although the division promised to bring Mr. Garcia’s case
ding light on a tense domestic altercation between Mr.
and emails for updates remained unanswered. Eventually,
apparent mental distress, held a screwdriver to his neck,
before a grand jury, the family’s patience wore thin. Calls
Garcia and his wife. Throughout the incident, Mr. Garcia, in
From L to R: Matt Garcia (former TRLA attorney), Nicole Mendez Herrera (daughter), Lisa Garcia (widow), Jessica Garcia (daughter), Susan Watson (TRLA attorney), Amanda Garcia (daughter), and Amber Banks (TRLA attorney)
OUR FIGHT 05
