Teen Riding Bike Is Murdered by Man Who Mistook Him for Someone He Wanted to Kill: ‘Hole in Our Family’
A Pennsylvania man who fatally shot a teenager he mistook for someone he wanted to kill has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, authorities announced.
Luis Garcia, 33, was handed down the sentence last week after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, possessing an instrument of crime and related illegal firearm violations in connection with the death of 16-year-old Jonathan Rosa Camacho, according to a March 13 press release from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
Camacho was riding his bike home in North Philadelphia on Jan. 4, 2021, after stopping at a nearby convenience store, when he was shot eight times by Garcia, the D.A.’s office said. Garcia then fled in a getaway car allegedly driven by someone else.
Surveillance video obtained during the investigation showed Garcia in a nearby Chinese food store shortly before the killing, wearing “very distinct footwear and a plainly visible cross-body pack,” the release states. Additional footage also captured Garcia wearing those same items while fleeing the scene after the shooting.
About a week after the murder, a Subaru Legacy — the same vehicle seen leaving the scene after the killing — was stopped by Philadelphia police detectives after they spotted it in the neighborhood while trying to gather more video evidence.
A search of the vehicle turned up the body pack worn by Garcia the night of the shooting.
The body pack Garcia wore the night of the shooting was recovered during the searches.
Garcia was taken in for questioning and admitted his role in the killing.
It was determined during this interrogation that Garcia gunned down the teen because he believed Camacho was associated with another individual that Garcia was targeting for murder,” the release states.
Camacho’s family gave a victim impact statement last week during Garcia’s sentencing.
“We wish we could have been there to hold Jonathan so he wouldn’t be alone while taking his last breath,” the victim’s family wrote, per the release. “At such a young age, Jonathan did everything he could to protect his mother and family.”
“He had so many hopes and dreams about what he wanted to be in the future, and what he wanted to do to make sure his mother and family were taken care of. His loss has pierced a hole in our family that will never be filled again,” the statement continued.
