A San Joaquin County jury has convicted Matthew Garcia of Stockton in the 2020 death of his infant son, Emiliano Garcia, the district attorney’s office announced.
Garcia, 28, was found guilty of child abuse resulting in death, child abuse with great bodily injury and a misdemeanor count of child abuse.
In announcing the verdict Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Lauren P. Thomasson also ruled that Garcia’s prior convictions for attempted robbery and first-degree burglary were true.
Emiliano Garcia was born Aug. 22, 2020, and died 2 1/2 months later, on Nov. 14, 2020. Prosecutors said Garcia, angered by the child’s crying, violently shoved a bottle into the baby’s mouth, shook him, kicked him and threw him into a bathtub. The repeated violent acts caused craniocerebral trauma, according to a news release from the D.A.’s office.
At the time of the boy’s death, Garcia had been released early from a three-year prison sentence to relieve overcrowding, according to news reports.
“This verdict is not just a legal victory; it’s a moral imperative,” District Attorney Ron Freitas said in a statement. “We have made it unequivocally clear that the brutalization of our children will face the full force of the law. We owe it to Emiliano to ensure his memory drives our resolve to protect every child from such horrors.”
Garcia faces 50 to 75 years to life in prison at sentencing, which is scheduled for April 14.