Police say the teens had been handling guns and drinking inside a Columbia Borough home before Wilfredo Garcia was fatally shot. Four other people face charges tied to the weapons, alcohol or what happened afterward.
COLUMBIA, PA — A teenager accused of fatally shooting 17-year-old Wilfredo Garcia while handling a loaded handgun inside a Columbia Borough residence will have his homicide case move forward in Lancaster County court.
District Judge Miles Bixler ruled Sept. 1 that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for the case against Jose Manuel Lopez III to proceed to the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas. Lopez faces third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, possession of a firearm by a minor and three counts of recklessly endangering another person.
Three other defendants charged in connection with the July 18 shooting waived their cases to county court that same day.
Teenagers were handling guns before fatal shooting
Garcia was killed inside his mother’s residence in the 900 block of Plane Street on the evening of July 18.
Police responding to the residence found the 17-year-old unresponsive and attempted life-saving measures, but Garcia was determined to be beyond help. Earlier reporting on the investigation said officers were dispatched to the Wagon Werks Apartments at about 9:45 p.m. and found Garcia suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.
Investigators said several teenagers who knew one another were inside the residence that night. Some had been drinking alcohol, and the group had been handling firearms, gun parts and accessories during the evening.
Police allege Lopez was handling a 9mm handgun when it discharged, killing Garcia.
According to investigators, Lopez initially denied being in the room when Garcia was shot. He later allegedly acknowledged that he had been holding the handgun when it fired.
Police said Lopez also admitted knowing the gun’s magazine was loaded when he pointed it toward Garcia with his finger on the trigger.
Lopez was 16 at the time of the shooting, according to earlier reporting on the case.
Police say guns were removed and hidden after shooting
Investigators allege 19-year-old Xxavior Michener possessed the 9mm handgun before the shooting. Garcia had been in possession of a .40-caliber handgun, according to police.
After Garcia was shot, authorities allege 19-year-old Bryant Ramos and another juvenile gathered the two guns and firearm parts, placed them in a shoebox and removed them from the residence.
Police said the weapons were then hidden in separate locations.
Investigators conducted numerous interviews and searched multiple locations before recovering the 9mm handgun believed to have been involved in Garcia’s death in the Lititz area.
The .40-caliber handgun was recovered in the York area, while additional gun parts were found inside a vehicle in the Mount Joy area, according to investigators.
The case adds to Pennsylvania crime coverage involving firearms and juveniles.
Four others charged in connection with case
Ramos is charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution, tampering with evidence, conspiracy to commit both offenses and carrying a firearm without a license.
Michener faces a charge of carrying a firearm without a license.
Garcia’s mother, 42-year-old Tamara Rosario, is charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution, furnishing alcohol to minors and corruption of minors.
Authorities allege Rosario supplied alcohol consumed by some of the teenagers that evening. Investigators also accuse her of withholding information about who had been inside her home when Garcia was killed.
Police said Rosario denied knowing how many people were present despite allegedly knowing who had been there. Investigators eventually identified the people inside the residence and interviewed them multiple times over more than a week.
A 17-year-old boy also faces charges of hindering apprehension or prosecution, tampering with evidence, conspiracy, carrying a firearm without a license and possession of a firearm by a minor.
Ramos, Michener and Rosario remain free on $50,000 unsecured bail.
Third-degree murder charge carries serious exposure
Under Pennsylvania’s Crimes Code, third-degree murder covers murders that do not fall within the statutory definitions of first- or second-degree murder. State law provides for a maximum sentence of 40 years for a third-degree murder conviction.
Because Lopez was under 18 at the time of Garcia’s death, his age is also relevant to how the case proceeds through Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system.
Lopez remains held at the Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center without bail as the case moves into the Court of Common Pleas.
The case is part of Shore News Network’s continuing coverage of crime, public safety and Pennsylvania.