LI Man Lured 19-Year-Old To Robbery, Fatally Shot Him: DA

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A Central Islip man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting a 19-year-old Bay Shore man during an attempted robbery in 2022, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Erick Garcia, 22, was sentenced after pleading guilty in July to first-degree manslaughter in the death of Carlos Guillen, prosecutors said. Garcia also pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in connection with an unrelated gun possession charge.

According to court documents and Garcia’s admissions during his guilty plea, Garcia arranged to meet Guillen on Oct. 1, 2022, as part of a plan to rob him, prosecutors said.

When Guillen arrived at the location Garcia selected, Garcia got into the passenger side of Guillen’s vehicle and tried to rob him at gunpoint, prosecutors said. Guillen accelerated and drove away with Garcia still inside the vehicle.

Garcia then shot Guillen in the neck at point-blank range and jumped out of the vehicle while it was still moving, prosecutors said.

Guillen tried to call 911 but was unable to speak during the call, prosecutors said. After crashing his vehicle, he was taken to South Shore University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from the gunshot wound.

Cellphone records placed Garcia’s phone in the area of the shooting and confirmed he fled to Florida the following day in an apparent attempt to avoid capture, prosecutors said.

Garcia was arrested in Central Islip on Nov. 10, 2022, about a month after the shooting, after police found him with a loaded 9 mm unserialized firearm, prosecutors said. The gun is not believed to be connected to the October shooting, prosecutors said.

Garcia was arrested on homicide charges on April 11, 2024, following an extensive investigation into the fatal shooting, prosecutors said.

Garcia pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, a Class B violent felony, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a Class C violent felony, on July 7 before Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven Pilewski.

Pilewski sentenced Garcia to 25 years in prison on the manslaughter charge and five years on the weapons charge, followed by five years of post-release supervision, prosecutors said. The sentences will run concurrently.

Garcia was represented by Glenn Obedin, who was not immediately available for comment.

“The defendant arranged the meeting, brought the gun, and decided to commit a violent robbery, costing a young man his life and causing the family immeasurable grief,” Tierney said. “Just a month later, he was found in possession of a loaded unserialized firearm, placing additional lives a risk. Today’s sentence holds him fully accountable for these actions.”