HARTFORD, CT – In a significant conclusion to a harrowing case, Natasha Garcia has been sentenced to over a decade in prison for her involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a Massachusetts man.
Natasha Garcia, 29, formerly of Chicopee, Massachusetts, received a sentence of 132 months from U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams for her part in the 2020 crimes against Francisco Roman, Jr. Following her prison term, Garcia will undergo three years of supervised release.
Court proceedings revealed that Garcia lured Roman to her apartment on December 24, 2020, where accomplices Brandon Batiste and Calvin Roberson awaited, armed and ready to execute a plan involving Roman’s kidnapping, robbery, and murder. Following Garcia’s departure, Batiste and Roberson carried out the robbery and forcibly took Roman to Connecticut, where Batiste fatally shot him. The duo later abandoned Roman’s car in Hartford, which was discovered engulfed in flames two days later, with Roman’s body inside.
Garcia’s guilty plea in 2021 addressed charges related to aiding a robbery and the discharge of a firearm during a violent crime. She was taken into custody immediately following her sentencing.
Batiste and Roberson have also faced justice, receiving sentences of 42 and 29 years, respectively, for their roles in the kidnapping and murder. Shamari Smith, connected to the aftermath and cover-up of the crime, was sentenced to over two years in prison for misprision of a felony.
This case underscores the commitment of law enforcement and the justice system to hold accountable those involved in violent crimes, offering a measure of closure to the tragic loss of Francisco Roman, Jr.