State v. Garcia

CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 2, 2026
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Garcia (State v. Garcia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Garcia, (N.M. 2026).

Opinion

This decision of the Supreme Court of New Mexico was not selected for publication in the New Mexico Appellate Reports. Refer to Rule 12-405 NMRA for restrictions on the citation of unpublished decisions. Electronic decisions may contain computer- generated errors or other deviations from the official version filed by the Supreme Court.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

Filing Date: July 2, 2026

No. S-1-SC-40626

STATE OF NEW MEXICO,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

IZAIAH GARCIA,

Defendant-Appellant.

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF BERNALILLO COUNTY Joseph A. Montano, District Judge

Bennett J. Baur, Chief Public Defender Kimberly Chavez Cook, Appellate Defender Thomas J. Lewis, Assistant Appellate Defender Santa Fe, NM

for Appellant

Raúl Torrez, Attorney General Santa Fe, NM Van Snow, Deputy Solicitor General Albuquerque, NM

for Appellee

DECISION

THOMSON, Justice.

{1} Izaiah Garcia (Defendant) challenges his convictions for first-degree depraved mind murder, NMSA 1978, § 30-2-1(A)(3) (1994), and aggravated assault, NMSA 1978, § 30-3-3 (1977). Defendant raises three claims in this appeal: (1) that the evidence was insufficient to prove he committed depraved mind murder and aggravated assault; (2) that the trial court erred in denying Defendant’s motion for a change of venue; and (3) that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of Defendant’s involvement in a shooting several weeks prior to this incident—a previous attempt to kill the intended target in this case.

{2} We conclude that Defendant’s first-degree depraved mind murder conviction is supported by sufficient evidence, and that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying his motion for a change of venue or in admitting evidence of the prior shooting. Because Defendant’s sufficiency challenge with respect to his aggravated assault conviction is completely undeveloped, we decline to consider it. See Elane Photography v. Willock, 2013-NMSC-040, ¶ 70, 309 P.3d 53 (“We will not review unclear arguments, or guess at what a party’s arguments might be.” (brackets, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted)). Accordingly, we affirm Defendant’s convictions and sentence. We exercise our discretion to resolve this appeal through a nonprecedential decision. See Rule 12-405(B) NMRA.

I. BACKGROUND

{3} Cayla Campos was shot and killed while playing Pokémon Go! with her boyfriend, Sidney Toler, on the night of October 18, 2019. Cayla was slowly driving alongside Bianchetti Park when the couple encountered two cars blocking the road and what they quickly realized was an unfolding robbery. Sidney saw two men standing on either side of one of the cars; one was pointing a gun inside the driver’s side window while a “tall and lanky” man took items, including a Louis Vuitton belt and chicken nuggets, from the passenger side window. Realizing what was happening, Cayla executed a three-point turn and attempted to drive away. The armed man pursued Cayla’s car, bashing it several times with the gun before firing four to six shots at her retreating vehicle. One of the bullets struck Cayla in the neck, ultimately killing her. Cayla’s car rolled through the park and hit an electrical box before colliding with a nearby home, only stopping after it crashed through the front wall of the house.

{4} Investigators linked Defendant to the crime through witness identification of his vehicle, phone records placing him near the park that night, and DNA collected from a 5.56 mm ammunition box matching the caliber of casings recovered at the scene. At trial, the jury heard from Sidney Toler and three other witnesses to the shooting, including Defendant’s friend and the second participant in the robbery: Gabriel Marquez (Gabe). Gabe testified that he and Defendant went to the park that night after Defendant’s girlfriend, Katrina, called and expressed concern about people gathered outside of her house near Bianchetti Park. One of the vehicles resembled a SUV belonging to another young man, Christian Mattock, with whom Defendant had a history.

{5} Defendant and Gabe drove to Katrina’s house in Defendant’s red Pontiac G8. At Gabe’s suggestion, they took an AR-15 belonging to Gabe. When they pulled up to Katrina’s house, they saw three cars, including a SUV and a red Mustang, on the street. Defendant quickly grabbed the AR-15 and leapt out of the car without pausing to put it in park. As he approached, the SUV pulled away. With their faces covered, Defendant and Gabe proceeded to rob the three teenagers occupying the red Mustang. Upon noticing Cayla’s car—a black Subaru Impreza hatchback—Defendant gave pursuit, striking the vehicle several times with the barrel of the gun before firing at least four rounds at the car as Cayla fled. Gabe testified that Defendant told him that he fired the shots that night because he believed Christian was in the vehicle.

{6} According to Gabe, Defendant held a grudge against Christian because Christian had pistol-whipped and shot at Gabe years earlier. According to Gabe, that grudge culminated in Defendant attempting to shoot Christian at a party in September of 2019. Defendant missed Christian and instead struck and killed a bystander—Sean Markey. At trial, two of Defendant’s friends, Tanner White and Zeke Fox, also testified to Defendant’s grudge against Christian and the events of the September shooting.

{7} The jury convicted Defendant of first-degree deliberate intent murder, first-degree depraved mind murder, shooting at or from a motor vehicle, armed robbery, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence, child abuse, and conspiracy. To avoid violating the prohibition against double jeopardy, the district court vacated the conviction for first- degree deliberate intent murder and sentenced Defendant to life in prison. Additional facts are provided as pertinent to the analysis.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Sufficiency of the Evidence

{8} Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence underlying his first-degree depraved mind murder and aggravated assault convictions. Because his argument regarding the aggravated assault conviction is limited to a single heading and devoid of any citation to authority, we decline to review that issue. See Elane Photography, 2013- NMSC-040, ¶ 70; see also Lee v. Lee (In re Adoption of Doe), 1984-NMSC-024, ¶ 2, 100 N.M. 764, 676 P.2d 1329 (“Issues raised in appellate briefs which are unsupported by cited authority will not be reviewed by us on appeal.”). We, thus, focus our analysis on Defendant’s first-degree depraved mind murder conviction and conclude that sufficient evidence supported the jury’s verdict.

1. Standard of review

{9} When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, the Court asks whether “any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” State v. Holt, 2016-NMSC-011, ¶ 20, 368 P.3d 409 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). “New Mexico appellate courts will not invade the jury’s province as fact-finder by second-guess[ing] the jury’s decision concerning the credibility of witnesses, reweigh[ing] the evidence, or substitut[ing] its judgment for that of the jury.” State v. Garcia, 2011-NMSC-003, ¶ 5, 149 N.M. 185, 246 P.3d 1057 (alterations in original) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). 2. Sufficient evidence supports Defendant’s conviction for depraved mind murder

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Bluebook (online)
State v. Garcia, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-garcia-nm-2026.