THE DARK SIDE OF IOWA
Alejandro Garcia
#1083090
Full Name: Alejandro Garcia
DOB: April 21, 1977
Charge: 1st degree murder
County: Polk
City: Des Moines
Current Status: Iowa Department of Corrections
Partners in Crime: Enrique Garcia, Isidro Ramirez, Manuel Ramirez, Jaime Mendoza
Date of Crime: March 28, 1998
Tentative Discharge Date: Life
Victim: Daniel Hernandez Gonzales
DOB: April 21, 1977
Charge: 1st degree murder
County: Polk
City: Des Moines
Current Status: Iowa Department of Corrections
Partners in Crime: Enrique Garcia, Isidro Ramirez, Manuel Ramirez, Jaime Mendoza
Date of Crime: March 28, 1998
Tentative Discharge Date: Life
Victim: Daniel Hernandez Gonzales
Enrique Garcia, Manuel Ramirez, Alejandro Garcia and Isidro Ramirez were together on the evening of March 28, 1998, in Des Moines. An unidentified man approached in a vehicle and talked to one of Enrique’s companions. The man offered to pay Enrique and his companions $100 each to beat up Daniel Hernandez Gonzales, who allegedly owed money for a drug transaction.
The men discussed a plan and the possibility of Daniel’s wife or girlfriend being there. All agreed to participate. Manuel suggested taking masks, but it was decided not to. While Manuel was present, Enrique produced a gun and suggested taking it in case Daniel had a weapon.
Manuel drove the group to meet the man who had hired them. Isidro again spoke with the man, who told Manuel to follow him. Manuel drove to a parking lot near Daniel’s mobile home, where his passengers got out of the pickup. Alejandro took a baseball bat and a gun; another man took two beer bottles.
They forced their way into Daniel’s home and assaulted him, kicking him repeatedly in the stomach and back and striking him with the beer bottles and the baseball bat on the head and shoulders. Enrique ultimately shot him four times. Two bullets entered Daniel’s right leg, while the other two perforated both of his lungs and his stomach.
The men than ran to the pickup and fled, but law enforcement officers soon pulled them over. When the officers searched Manuel’s vehicle, they found the gun inside a hole in the door panel on the passenger side.
Daniel was transported to Iowa Methodist Medical Center where he underwent surgery for his abdominal and chest wounds. The pulmonary injury required removal of a portion of one of his lungs and a repair of a stomach perforation. Daniel soon developed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, a condition which often develops in trauma victims despite successful treatment of the wounds which provoked the treatment. The blood vessels typically leak and their body tissues retain fluid and swell. The treatment protocol for the condition requires infusion of additional fluids to keep internal organs properly perfused and commonly includes use of a ventilator.
Daniel’s treatment regimen included insertion of a tracheostomy tube. While shaving the patient, a nurse “nicked” the trach tube and caused a leak which decreased the effectiveness of the ventilation. A treating physician decided the trach tube should be replaced. Unfortunately, the patient’s neck edema was so severe the replacement tube could not be inserted in a timely fashion. Daniel could not breathe without mechanical assistance and he was asphyxiated.
Manuel, Enrique, Alejandro and Jaime Mendoza were all charged with first-degree murder. All were convicted of first-degree murder with the exception of Jaime, who was charged with attempted murder.
The men discussed a plan and the possibility of Daniel’s wife or girlfriend being there. All agreed to participate. Manuel suggested taking masks, but it was decided not to. While Manuel was present, Enrique produced a gun and suggested taking it in case Daniel had a weapon.
Manuel drove the group to meet the man who had hired them. Isidro again spoke with the man, who told Manuel to follow him. Manuel drove to a parking lot near Daniel’s mobile home, where his passengers got out of the pickup. Alejandro took a baseball bat and a gun; another man took two beer bottles.
They forced their way into Daniel’s home and assaulted him, kicking him repeatedly in the stomach and back and striking him with the beer bottles and the baseball bat on the head and shoulders. Enrique ultimately shot him four times. Two bullets entered Daniel’s right leg, while the other two perforated both of his lungs and his stomach.
The men than ran to the pickup and fled, but law enforcement officers soon pulled them over. When the officers searched Manuel’s vehicle, they found the gun inside a hole in the door panel on the passenger side.
Daniel was transported to Iowa Methodist Medical Center where he underwent surgery for his abdominal and chest wounds. The pulmonary injury required removal of a portion of one of his lungs and a repair of a stomach perforation. Daniel soon developed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, a condition which often develops in trauma victims despite successful treatment of the wounds which provoked the treatment. The blood vessels typically leak and their body tissues retain fluid and swell. The treatment protocol for the condition requires infusion of additional fluids to keep internal organs properly perfused and commonly includes use of a ventilator.
Daniel’s treatment regimen included insertion of a tracheostomy tube. While shaving the patient, a nurse “nicked” the trach tube and caused a leak which decreased the effectiveness of the ventilation. A treating physician decided the trach tube should be replaced. Unfortunately, the patient’s neck edema was so severe the replacement tube could not be inserted in a timely fashion. Daniel could not breathe without mechanical assistance and he was asphyxiated.
Manuel, Enrique, Alejandro and Jaime Mendoza were all charged with first-degree murder. All were convicted of first-degree murder with the exception of Jaime, who was charged with attempted murder.
Source: FindLaw
