10/09/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/09/2024 19:07
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Nancy Dalila Escobar Garcia, 35, of Sacramento County, was sentenced today to five years in prison for conspiring to possess and distribute methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Nancy Garcia conspired with her husband Michael Garcia (a co-defendant in this case) to sell methamphetamine and heroin in Sacramento and Solano Counties. Nancy Garcia began this conspiracy with her husband while he was serving a state sentence for narcotics offenses at the Tulare County Jail.
In furtherance of this conspiracy, Nancy Garcia met with an FBI confidential informant on three separate occasions and personally sold the informant a total of 4 pounds of methamphetamine. During these meetings, Nancy Garcia began to negotiate a firearms sale with the informant and was present at the illegal firearms sale described below. Nancy Garcia also admitted that she and her husband bought a home in Arizona with drug proceeds. Nancy Garcia pleaded guilty on May 21, 2024, and as part of her plea agreement, she is assisting the United States in the forfeiture of this home.
Once out of state custody, Michael Garcia continued the conspiracy to sell methamphetamine and heroin. He also set up a deal with co-defendant Tylor Combs to sell firearms to the informant. Nancy Garcia, Michael Garcia, and Tylor Combs were present at this illegal firearms deal, which involved 10 firearms, including an unserialized machine gun sometimes called a "ghost gun" that is untraceable.
This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI's Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella is prosecuting the case.
Tylor Combs pleaded guilty both to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and to being a felon in possession of firearms. On Nov. 12, 2021, he was sentenced to six years and six months in prison.
Michael Garcia has pleaded not guilty and remains in federal custody. The charges are only allegations; Michael Garcia is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice's signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department's past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see www.justice.gov/projectguardian.