JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A Biloxi man was sentenced to three life sentences for discharging a firearm during the commission of a robbery that killed three people in December 2016.
Joshua Michael Garcia, 42, was sentenced on Monday in U.S. District Court in Jackson. Garcia was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $35,070.40.
According to court documents, Garcia and co-defendant Jamison Layne Townsend went to Bill’s Coin & Jewelry on December 17, 2016, to rob the business. During the armed robbery, prosecutors said Garcia shot and killed the owner and two co-workers.
Later that day, Garcia and Townsend entered a pawn shop in Mobile, Alabama, and pawned five items that were stolen from Bill’s earlier that day.
On December 19, 2016, a trooper with the Tennessee Highway Patrol attempted to stop Garcia and Townsend who were traveling in a red Dodge Charger on Interstate 24. A chase ensued and Garcia and Townsend escaped at a high rate of speed.
Two days later, Garcia and Townsend were arrested in Geary County, Kansas. Officers searched the Charger and found numerous items that were stolen from Bill’s, including coins, watches, trays of jewelry, and many items that still contained the sales tags from Bill’s.
Garcia pled guilty on December 15, 2021, to discharging a firearm that resulted in the murder of three persons during the commission of a robbery.