June 14, 2022 – Santa Barbara County, Ca.
Perhaps the impending pressure of what to get Dad on Father’s Day was simply too much to bear for 40-year-old Lompoc resident Joe Garcia Jr on the afternoon of June 11 th when he beat his father and then set him on fire; certainly the motivation for his alleged behavior that afternoon remains murky at this time.
According to Lompoc Police Department’s spokesman Sgt. Jorge Magana, what is known are certain facts determined based upon evidence discovered by LPD officers responding to the Garcia residence pursuant to a 911 call reporting “a father and son fighting.” Upon arrival at the home, patrol officers made contact with Garcia Jr who refused them entry.
Garcia Jr. “did not comply” with officers’ request to open the door to the residence. Further entreaties were declined, whereupon the cops forced their way into the home and “immediately saw the father was set on fire and was actively burning.”
Rescue measures immediately ensued as officers extinguished the flames which left third- degree burns on the elder Garcia Sr who was then airlifted to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for further transfer to a Southern California burn center.
Garcia Jr. was taken into custody and transported to the Lompoc City Jail, where he was booked on charges of attempted murder, false imprisonment, criminal threats, assault with a deadly weapon, mayhem, elder abuse, and…animal cruelty.
