Man sentenced for 2021 shooting in downtown Idaho Falls
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IDAHO FALLS – One of the men responsible for a shooting in downtown Idaho Falls was sentenced to prison.
Nikolaus Garcia, 25, was sentenced by District Judge Michael Whyte to 4 and a half to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony aggravated battery. He will also have to pay $10,000 in fines.
Garcia accepted a plea agreement, in which he agreed to plead guilty to the battery charge, plead guilty to an amended charge of misdemeanor malicious injury to property in a separate case, and plead guilty to misdemeanor battery in a third, separate case.
According to the agreement, the sentence for all three charges should not exceed 16 and a half years. Garcia received a maximum of 13 years.
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Police reports show at 11 p.m. on Aug. 13, 2021, Idaho Falls Police officers responded to a report of a shooting that had occurred in downtown Idaho Falls on Shoup Avenue.
According to witnesses, a group of people was involved in an argument when someone produced a firearm and fired a shot at another person.
The victim was struck with a single round and was transported to an area hospital by private vehicle, where they were met by law enforcement, according to court documents. The victim received treatment from medical staff, recovered and was released from the hospital.
Initial accounts from witnesses on the scene led investigators to believe that Cristian Sanchez, 23, had shot the victim. These initial accounts included multiple witnesses who independently stated that they believed Sanchez was the shooter.
On Aug. 18, 2021, Sanchez was found and interviewed by detectives. Sanchez denied involvement in the shooting. Sanchez was also asked about a video posted on social media by another person, Nikolaus Garcia, 24, who claimed responsibility for the shooting.
Sanchez reportedly confirmed that he and Garcia had been together that night but said Garcia had not shot anyone. Based on information known at the time, Sanchez was then arrested for felony aggravated battery by use of a deadly weapon.
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Detectives later found a video that showed a second person on scene during the shooting, Nikolas Garcia, and confirmed that he was actually the shooter. The video reportedly shows Garcia and Sanchez arguing with the victim, and Garcia shooting the victim.
Detectives then requested an arrest warrant for Garcia and an alteration to Sanchez’s charges, which were both granted.
The Idaho Falls Police Department later received a call from Garcia, who said he wanted to come to the station to pick up a firearm that had been seized as evidence in a previous incident.
The Idaho Falls Police employee who spoke with Garcia invited him to come to the station.
Idaho Falls Police detectives patrolled the path that they knew Garcia was likely to take and found Garcia near the intersection of Bannock and Elva where he was taken into custody without incident.
Garcia was then arrested and booked into the Bonneville County Jail.