Oregon woman sentenced to 10 years after shooting at cops trying to arrest her on a theft warrant
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An Oregon woman was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday after shooting at police officers, injuring one of them, arresting her for theft and then doing everything possible to help her.
Yvette Lares Garcia, 37, was convicted by a judge from Clackamas County, Oregon after the court heard emotional testimony from Gladstone Police Department officers about the shooting.
“We treated you with the utmost dignity and respect,” Sergeant said. Travis Hill in court.
The sergeant, a 20-year veteran of the force, had to resign from his post due to injuries sustained from being shot by Garcia.
“My kids don’t understand how or why you would do something that hurts me so much. They saw me fight through the physical pain and discomfort every day.”
Yvette Lares Garcia, 37, was sentenced to 10 years for shooting police officers, injuring one who was later forced to withdraw from the police force due to permanent nerve damage.
The shooting took place on Nov. 22, 2021, when Officer Clement Lau arrested Garcia on an outstanding first-degree theft warrant in Texas.
Garcia had just left the gym when the cop stopped her.
The woman was taken into custody by Officer Lau and Sgt. Travis Hill taken to Gladstone Police Department without incident and for booking.
While handcuffed in the police station, the woman repeatedly complained and expressed concern about her dogs being left alone in her home.
Believing the woman to be fair and harmless, the two officers told Garcia they would escort her to her home, where she could make sure her dogs were okay.
Bodycam video shows the horrific moments when one of the officers in the house is shot by the woman who was still handcuffed.
Police arrested the woman after realizing she had an open theft warrant in Texas
After repeatedly telling officers she was concerned about her dogs being alone in her home, police accompanied her to her home to check on her pets.
While inside, the woman tells the officers that she is going upstairs to get a belt
The group entered the house through the garage and were met by Garcia’s dogs.
Lau and Hill try to calm the dogs while the woman slips away and tells the officers she’s going to grab a leash upstairs.
With her hands still behind her back, Garcia goes to her room where she picks up a loaded 9mm pistol.
As she goes back down to where Hill, Lau and her dogs are, the woman starts firing at Hill.
“Hi, I’ve been hit,” Hill yells as he finds himself in a hallway in the house.
Video of the incident shows the sergeant screaming in pain after being hit once in the arm and once in the leg.
One of the bullets entered just below the law enforcement officer’s knee, causing permanent damage, according to reports from Oregon Live.
Lau, whose bodycam footage was released, fires back at Garcia before she can be heard crying, including after being hit.
“Drop the gun or you’ll be shot again,” Lau yells at the woman.
She responds by saying ‘no’ and starts shooting again.
Garcia’s attorney claimed the woman was unaware that she was wanted in Texas and that she hoped the police would shoot her for being suicidal.
“Her plan was to die at home while the police would shoot her, so she didn’t put the gun in the stairwell,” the lawyer claimed.
“She wanted the police, with all due respect, to get the job done. Her plan was to commit suicide by a cop. It’s not a justification, certainly not an excuse, but it’s an explanation.’
Hill yells “gun” into the house to warn his fellow officer and begins exchanging gunfire. Lau calls for backup and also exchanges fire with the woman at the top of the stairs
Blood can be seen under Sgt. Hill’s leg where he was shot by the woman. The bullet caused severe nerve damage, permanently banning him from police work
The officer then reloads and continues to exchange gunfire.
Lau calls for immediate backup, while Hill says to his fellow officer, “I need a tourniquet.”
When other officers arrive, Lau rushes in and begins to apply a tourniquet to Hill’s leg.
“I could have been in the arm too,” the sergeant tells Lau as other officers say they “have her.”
Blood can be seen on the floor under the officer’s injury.
Garcia also suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The woman sustained injuries to her spine, leg, abdomen and arm, Oregon Live reported. The local news agency was in court on Wednesday for the final hearing.
The shot to Hill’s leg caused permanent nerve damage to his foot and leg.
He can no longer “ride a bike or play on the trampoline” with his young children, Hill said during a victim statement in court.
The sergeant also testified that the wound forced him to quit his police job, his 20-year career.
Agent Lau assists in applying a tourniquet to Sgt. Hill’s leg after being shot by Garcia. In bodycam footage, Hill also says he thinks he was shot in the arm
Garcia pleaded “no contest” to the aggravated charge of attempted murder against her and was guilty of first-degree assault and attempted murder of a class B felony.
She must be released on parole for three years and pay $50,000 in restitution.
Garcia apologized in court on Wednesday for her actions, in particular by speaking to Hill and Lau, who are forever affected.
‘I have turned a great act of kindness and humanity into something horrific. You were able to see my fear about my fur babies and went out of your way to help me. I remember you hanging out with me with your love for your dogs,” she said. “That stays with me and I think about it all the time.”
However, a prosecutor in the case said her legal troubles will not end in Oregon.
Texas officials hope to extradite Garcia, where she faces charges of embezzlement.
The woman allegedly stole $1.4 million from an oil company she worked for.
Garcia’s attorney, Michael Romano, said that at the time of the shooting, his client was depressed and that was the cause of her actions.
Romano said the woman had escaped her family in Odessa, Texas, to get away from an abusive ex and it was causing her “downward spiral.”
“All she had for her were her dogs and her physical condition,” Romano said.
Clackamas County Circuit Judge Cody Weston acknowledged the woman’s suicide by police but did not consider it a justification.
“But it doesn’t excuse or justify what happened,” Weston said. “For what it’s worth, I hope prison can play a rehabilitative role for you.”