A San Antonio man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend on her 19th birthday.
Joshua Garcia pled guilty to the Oct. 9, 2018, murder of Erin Castro. The couple went out to celebrate Castro’s 19th birthday. An argument ensued and the Defendant ultimately ran over Castro with his vehicle. Her body was found in the 6100 blk. of Camp Bullis Rd.
Garcia was sentenced this morning to 35 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice by Judge Kevin O’Connell of the 227th District Court. At the time of the murder, Garcia was on deferred adjudication probation for the charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for hitting Castro with a vehicle in 2016. That probation was also revoked and Garcia was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the maximum penalty for that charge. The sentences will run concurrently.
Garcia turned 23 years old today.
“Erin Castro deserved to celebrate many more birthdays with the people who loved her. While her family, friends and our office tried to keep this defendant away from her, he refused to stay away. That this case started on Ms. Castro’s birthday and is resolved on this defendant’s birthday is notable. Two young lives forever changed on days their families should be celebrating. Domestic violence changes families and our community must continue working to prevent tragedies like this,” said District Attorney Joe Gonzales.
This case was investigated by the San Antonio Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ryan Groomer, Victim Advocate Amanda Infante and Investigator Sheila Sorola of the Family Violence Division.
“Domestic violence has no place in our community,” said Groomer. “Erin’s life was not for Joshua Garcia to take and we are happy that justice has been served. Erin’s family has to live with the pain caused by Joshua Garcia’s actions and we hope that this sentence brings some measure of peace and closure to them.”
Garcia must serve at least half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.