SANTA CRUZ—A 19-year-old Watsonville man pleaded no contest to charges of involuntary manslaughter Wednesday for allegedly firing a gun that killed his reported friend on S. Green Valley Road Jan. 7.
Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Ilia McKinney said that Ricardo Jesus Garcia could face up to eight years in prison as part of the plea in the courtroom of Judge John Salazar.
Watsonville police arrested Garcia for allegedly shooting and killing 30-year-old Octavio Varela. Officers say they were friends.
Garcia was arrested on the 1400 block of Freedom Boulevard on Feb. 12. Watsonville Police Department spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said he is the primary suspect in the case.
Pulido said police believe Garcia, who was heavily intoxicated and in the backseat of a car Varela was driving, was playing with a gun when it went off, striking Varela with one round.
“Instead of rendering aid to his friend, Garcia quickly fled the area,” Pulido said in a press release.
Later on the night of the shooting, Garcia stumbled back into the crime scene after hiding in a nearby mobile home park, Pulido said. Officers arrested him for being drunk in public and later identified him as a suspect in the shooting.
McKinney said the plea deal could lead to dropping another felony charge against Garcia of unlawful firearm possession.
Garcia is set to be back in court at 8:15am on April 14 for sentencing.
Garcia was represented by attorney Alyssa Thompson.
