Hector Garcia was convicted in the August 1989 killing of a 14-year-old boy during a convenience store robbery. The victim was waiting inside the store for his 17-year-old sister Adelmina Rios to get off from her job. Garcia put a gun to the boy's head and demanded Rios give him the money in the cash register. As Rios was emptying the register, Garcia reportedly shot the boy in the head. He then shot Rios in her stomach. She survived the stomach wound and later identified Garcia as the assailant. Garcia fled the scene in a car with three accomplices.

