Fresno Man sentenced to over 11 Years in Prison for Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm After a Homeland Security Task Force Investigation

FRESNO, Calif. - David Richard Garcia Jr., 34, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Kirk E. Sherriff to 11 years and five months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, on Jan. 23, 2025, Garcia was found to be in possession of a Glock 22 .40-caliber handgun. Garcia is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of prior felony convictions in Fresno County including, robbery, assault, and evading a peace office with willful disregard for safety.

According to court documents, Garcia possessed a firearm during a violent crime spree that created extreme danger to the community. He came to law enforcement's attention as a suspect in a series of catalytic converter thefts, and evidence later tied him to multiple thefts and the tools used to commit them. According to the Garcia, he was gambling thousands of dollars a day using proceeds from the thefts. During one incident, he threatened a vehicle owner with a firearm after being interrupted mid-theft. Leading up to his arrest, Garcia led officers on a nearly 50-minute high-speed chase through city streets, running red lights, colliding with another vehicle, driving into oncoming traffic, and continuing to flee even after crashing into a boulder that obstructed his windshield. The pursuit ended only after he crashed into a power pole, trash cans, and the fence of a middle school.

Garcia pleaded guilty on Feb. 23, 2026.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Fresno Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Veneman-Hughes prosecuted the case.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.