The Hollister man involved in a bizarre case filled with
allegations of witchcraft, and who was accused of attempting to
murder his ex-girlfriend, was sentenced to three years in state
prison Wednesday.
Hollister – The Hollister man involved in a bizarre case filled with allegations of witchcraft, and who was accused of attempting to murder his ex-girlfriend, was sentenced to three years in state prison Wednesday.
San Benito County Superior Court Judge Steven Sanders handed down the sentence to Sontu Garcia, 33, who pleaded no contest to felony assault and misdemeanor evading police.
“He’ll do maybe six months, because he’s got credit for over a year (of time served in jail),” said his attorney Greg La Forge.
La Forge said the county probation department recommended Garcia serve the full four years the charge could have carried.
Deputy District Attorney Steven Wagner, who prosecuted the case, did not return phone calls Wednesday, but had said the district attorney’s office expected Garcia to get at least three years.
Garcia originally faced life in prison after the district attorney charged him with the first degree attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hollister resident Brandy Raquel Jackson.
Garcia was also charged with domestic violence and felony solicitation to commit murder after police discovered a cryptic note they believe Garcia wrote asking a friend to help him kill Jackson.
Sanders threw out the solicitation charge during Garcia’s preliminary hearing due to a lack of evidence and because some of the prosecution’s witnesses were not credible, he said.
During that hearing, La Forge and Wagner questioned witnesses, including a Hollister police detective, who testified that both Garcia and Jackson were involved with witchcraft and had a proclivity for bondage and rough sex.
Jackson said during a prior court hearing that Garcia tried to kill her because he believed it was necessary to reclaim a piece of his soul she had stolen.
Last month the DA amended the charges to include only felony assault and misdemeanor evading police, significantly reducing the time Garcia faced behind bars.
