Leonard Garcia Cleared by Feds

by Kid Nate on Jul 3, 2008 11:29 AM EDT

Well here's a big wake up call to all us TUF noobs who foolishly assumed Garcia was guilty as soon as he was arrested. From MMA Mania:

“I just wanted to post this to let everyone know that I had the federal charges dropped. I am still dealing with the state but the charges aren’t as serious as they seemed. So I hope to be back in the cage soon … real soon. I’m just waiting on my excellent manager Steven (boogie) Bean to get that straightened out for me. I am gonna be the WEC lightweight champ soon, this is something I feel strongly about. So I’m telling everyone that is my goal and my dream and that is what I’m going to do so I will give it my all to do what I say I’m gonna do.”

As someone who grew up in the Texas panhandle, I was always suspicious of the charges, but I'm ashamed to admit that I let the chorus of haters shut me up. I did meekly pipe up in the comments one time back in April:

Let's not forget that the guy is innocent until proven guilty. Let's also not forget that America has the highest per capita imprisonment rates in the world, much of that due to our "war on drugs" which overwhelmingly imprisons black and brown men for crimes committed just as frequently by whites. From my experience with "Texas justice" I would not be surprised at all if Leonard got wrongly accused. At the same time, I wouldn't be shocked if he was guilty as sin. But so far the only evidence that's been produced against him has been an accusation by a snitch -- the currency of tainted drug war convictions.

While the feds are less likely to sweep up dozens of people without any evidence than the states, they nevertheless offer trades, in the form of lighter sentences and less asset forfeiture, to drug dealers if they incriminate associates -- often including wives, girlfriends and parents. The vast majority of those accused don't have the money to fight the case -- which is why you see 70 to 90% of these cases resulting in guilty pleas without a trial -- so the feds are not exactly required to be Sherlock Holmes in these cases. There's every chance Garcia is guilty, but it really cheeves me off to see everyone equate an indictment with a conviction.

Now Leonard's not off the hook yet as he still faces state charges and his home region is notorious for trumped up drug charges against minorities .

Lesson for all us citizens -- the U.S. Constitution insists on innocent until proven guilty for a reason.

I'm looking forward to seeing Leonard in the cage again real soon, this time wearing 5 oz. gloves instead of cuffs.

UPDATE: Here's a classic sample of the kind of ignorant ass remarks that are so typical of both my home state and our MMA communities (from the thread at the MMA Mania post cited above):

"I don’t accept that he was somehow targeted or singled out unfairly. There’s a reason why he’s a suspect. So, it’s out of line to say that it’s “fortunate” that charges weren’t filed." Fred

"I live in Texas (nowhere near Lubbock, thank God) and there are cartels all over the place. I’m in favor of police and DEA agents ‘accidentally’ shooting known distributors." PW

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Good

Very good news…the state charges should not keep him out of the cage.

Kelvin Hunt

I'm like those boyz on the sidelines...cause I ain't playing...

by Tha Realness on Jul 3, 2008 11:31 AM EDT 0 recs

Tuf Noobs lol. Now thats journalism.

by MrNiceGuyMMA on Jul 3, 2008 11:33 AM EDT 0 recs

Just like you can’t convict a person before he or she is tried, you can’t simply assume that Leonard Garcia was targeted, because he’s Hispanic. Maybe he was. It’s a possibility, but it’s far from a certainty. I may a little pissed, because Texas is sometimes looked at as the wild west. My mom has taught in a Texas prison for over ten years, and she’ll tell you that a ton of people are in there on some sort of drug charges. And yes, there are white people there, too. Let the facts come out as Garcia deals with the state charges. Then, we’ll be able to better to determine the motivation behind his arrest.

by Cannon Jacques on Jul 3, 2008 11:51 AM EDT 0 recs

I'm not assuming anything about Garcia

I just know for a fact that “Texas justice” disproportionately targets Hispanics. When I hear that a young Hispanic has been arrested on drug charges and the only evidence is allegations from someone who’s been arrested on drug charges I get real real suspicious.
If they’d busted Garcia with drugs, guns or massive cash we’d have a whole ‘nother situation. But when I hear someone is in jail due to a snitch and nothing else, I’m suspicious.

by Kid Nate on Jul 3, 2008 11:57 AM EDT up 0 recs

I don’t want to get into a debate about whether or not race is a motivation for this arrest. I think you’ve hit on the fact that drug charges are easier for the authorities to proceed with. The “War on Drugs” has made this possible. A huge percentage of the people in prisons are there on a drug charge. That doesn’t mean they were trafficking. The connection may be less sinister. I just don’t know that this happening in Texas has anything to do with Texas besides geography.

by Cannon Jacques on Jul 3, 2008 12:16 PM EDT up 0 recs

I'm from there

the Tulia case really opened my eyes to what goes on in the Panhandle.

by Kid Nate on Jul 3, 2008 1:04 PM EDT up 0 recs

I agree

The Tulia case was bullshit. If this is something similar, I’ll be at the front of the line to condemn it. I wasn’t attacking your credibility. I just didn’t want anybody to jump the gun, and convict the state of something that wasn’t proven. I don’t believe that was your intent. Of course, these may just be “typical Texan comments” on my part. Maybe I can avoid being grouped with those clowns posting at MMA Mania.

by Cannon Jacques on Jul 3, 2008 1:30 PM EDT up 0 recs

I think you’re right to be critical and cautious, but at the same time, “racial profiling” or targeting of minorities is one of the toughest things to prove on a case by case basis. It’s only in agregate that the trend appears, and I think Nate is also right to approach the situation with a strong initial suspicion based on that trend. I know for a fact that, in British Columbia, any Indigenous person is far more likely to be pulled over, harassed, arrested, and even assaulted by police than any non-Indigenous person, but the “proven” (in court) incidents of this are relatively low. There has to be a ballance between jumping the gun and labelling people as racists and waiting for “legal proof” when we are aware that there is a problem.

In short, everyone should have a healthy dose of skepticism about pretty well everything.

by AJB on Jul 3, 2008 1:38 PM EDT up 0 recs

I’ve always heard Metis get the shaft in all ways.

by Simco on Jul 3, 2008 1:53 PM EDT up 0 recs

Metis ALSO get the shaft. For most Metis, though, the authorities don’t usually connect them with “Indians”, especially since they don’t have “reserves” and “bands” in the same way and often are of similar appearance to Euro-Canadians (like me). Light skinned Indigenous peoples also tend to get less harassed; just goes to show that it’s less about what you do than how you look.

by AJB on Jul 3, 2008 2:01 PM EDT up 0 recs