United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

ARMED CAREER CRIMINAL SENTENCED TO NEARLY 20 YEARS
IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR POSSESSING A FIREARM

Defendant Arrested After He Accidentally Shot Himself in Leg

FORT WORTH, Texas — Edward Garcia, 41, of Fort Worth, who was arrested after he accidentally shot himself in the leg and was then convicted by a federal jury of being a felon in possession of a firearm, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John McBryde to 235 months (19 years, 7 months) in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Garcia was sentenced as an “Armed Career Criminal” under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e).

On April 15, 2007, Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) officers responded to a report of a shooting on West Hammond Street in Fort Worth. When officers arrived at the scene, they were met by Lucia Garcia, Edward Garcia’s wife, who told them that Garcia had shot himself in the leg. Officers observed Edward Garcia lying on the living room floor with a gunshot wound to his inner left thigh. Officers were taken to a bedroom where they recovered a loaded .22 caliber, semi-automatic pistol.

At trial, the jury heard testimony from a FWPD officer that when he went to John Peter Smith Hospital to interview Edward Garcia, he found that Garcia had an entry wound on his upper left inner thigh and an exit wound on the same leg approximately 12-16 inches lower than the entry wound. When the officer asked Garcia at the hospital what had happened, the officer testified that Garcia said, “Isn’t it ******* obvious. I was putting the gun in my waist and shot myself. If you want to know anything else speak to my lawyer.”

The case was adopted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office under the Project Safe Neighborhoods program, a nationwide effort which targets gun crime.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the FWPD and the ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Michael Worley and Josh Burgess prosecuted the case.

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