Garcia receives maximum sentence

By JOHN MARBLE, Monitor Staff Writer

David L. Garcia was sentenced to 22 years in prison Monday on two counts of vehicular homicide, driving while intoxicated (DWI), for the deaths of Russell and Mary Kidman of Los Alamos.

The sentence was the maximum allowed under a plea agreement Garcia accepted at his pretrial May 31 at the 13th Judicial District Court in Bernalillo.

Mary Dougherty, assistant district attorney for Sandoval County, said that Garcia would not be able to appeal his sentence because he accepted the plea agreement, but she didn't know at this time if there was any possibility of parole.

"This is one of the most difficult cases I have ever been involved in," said Dougherty. "Every aspect of it was extraordinarily moving. A lot of people from Los Alamos attended the sentencing, and family of the Kidmans gave a moving presentation."

Dougherty said that Judge Louis McDonald's sentence provided closure and also showed that the Kidman's lives had meaning.

Janet Gerwin, a friend of the Kidmans, said she was very surprised and very pleased that a northern New Mexico judge gave the maximum sentence in this kind of case. She said she hoped this was a message to potential DWI offenders.

The Kidmans died as a result of a head-on collision that occurred Sept. 17, 1999. Witnesses said they saw Garcia's 1991 Acura cross the center line as he was northbound on N.M. 4 near the Valle Grande. The Kidmans and two passengers were southbound in a 1999 Toyota.

Russell Kidman, 58, was flown by helicopter to the University of New Mexico Medical Center in Albuquerque and died on arrival. Mary Kidman, 54, died Oct. 31 after being kept alive on a ventilator.

Garcia was taken to Los Alamos Medical Center and eventually admitted to St. Joseph Rehabilitation Hospital in Albuquerque. He was later released without bond to third party custody of his daughter.

The Sheriff's report said "At the scene of the accident (the investigating officer) detected the strong odor of intoxicating liquor on (Garcia). A blood sample was taken from Garcia at LAMC to determine his blood alcohol content (BAC).

Court records show that Garcia was alleged to have had five prior DWI convictions, including one in Los Alamos County.

At the pretrial hearing, Garcia pleaded guilty to the two counts of vehicular homicide, DWI, and the state agreed not to pursue other charges, which included aggravated DWI, driving on a suspended license, having an open container of alcohol in a moving vehicle, failure to maintain his lane of traffic and having no insurance.