Former High School Dean Sentenced To Life Plus Five Years In Prison For 2010 Murder

 

The Defendant, the Leader of the GMG YGz Street Gang, Also Sentenced for Firearms and Narcotics Offenses

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ISRAEL GARCIA, a/k/a “Shorty Rock,” the former leader of the Get Money Gunnaz set of the Young Gunnaz street gang (the “GMG YGz”), was sentenced to life plus five years in prison for the October 11, 2010, murder of Alfonso “Joey” McClinton.  GARCIA shot and killed McClinton on a residential street in the Bronx, New York, as part of a dispute over narcotics trafficking territory.  Following a seven-day trial in July 2023 before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who imposed this sentence, a jury also convicted GARCIA of engaging in a conspiracy to distribute narcotics, murder while engaged in a narcotics conspiracy, murder through the use of a firearm, possessing firearms in connection with narcotics trafficking, and attempted witness tampering.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “This strong sentence reflects our unwavering commitment to holding those who take another life fully accountable for their heinous crimes.  Israel Garcia, a former high school dean who could have had a positive impact on our community, will now spend the rest of his life in prison for the brutal murder of Joey McClinton, for engaging in a narcotics conspiracy, and for witness tampering.  I commend the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners for doggedly pursuing this case and for bringing justice to Joey McClinton, nearly 14 years after his death.”    

According to court filings and the evidence presented in court during trial: 

For more than a decade, the defendant controlled the sale of narcotics in the vicinity of East 184th Street and Morris Avenue in the Bronx as the leader of the GMG YGz.  As part of their narcotics operation, GMG YGz members carried firearms and engaged in back-and-forth shootings with neighboring, rival crews.  This violence resulted in, among other acts, the 2010 murder of Alfonso “Joey” McClinton (“McClinton”).  The State of New York arrested and prosecuted GMG YGz member Joseph Johnson, a/k/a “Juice,” for the killing.[1] However, Ballistics, video evidence, and eyewitness testimony revealed that there was a second shooter involved in Mr. McClinton’s murder.  GARCIA was that second shooter.  When GARCIA became concerned that Johnson might cooperate with law enforcement, GARCIA took steps to prevent Johnson from identifying GARCIA as the person with whom he committed the murder.

GARCIA, 33, of the Bronx, New York, was previously found guilty of murder in aid of racketeering, narcotics conspiracy, murder while engaged in a narcotics conspiracy, murder through the use of a firearm, use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, and attempted witness tampering offenses.  Judge Rakoff imposed the following sentences on each count of conviction, with the sentences on Counts One, Two, Three, Four, and Six to run concurrently with one another, and the sentence on Count Five to run consecutively to all other sentences:

COUNT	SENTENCE
Count One: Murder in Aid of Racketeering	Life in prison
Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances	35 years in prison
Count Three: Murder While Engaged in a Narcotics Conspiracy	40 years in prison
Count Four: Murder Through the Use of a Firearm	40 years in prison
Count Five: Possession of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime	Five years in prison
Count Six: Attempted Witness Tampering	10 years in prison

Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New York City Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Marshals Service.  

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the U.S. using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob Gutwillig, Maggie Lynaugh, and Jonathan Bodansky, with the assistance of paralegal specialist Owen Foley, are in charge of the prosecution.

[1] Johnson was convicted at trial of second-degree murder in The People of the State of New York v. Joseph Johnson, Index Number 4311/2010.  On February 3, 2022, the verdict against Johnson was vacated.  Johnson subsequently pled guilty to manslaughter and is serving a 17-year sentence.