An Aurora man’s 2013 conviction on a charge of threatening a Kane County judge has been upheld by the 2nd District Appellate Court in a recent ruling.
Christopher Garcia, 27, who is currently on parole in the case, was found guilty by a jury of threatening a public official and was sentenced to 41/2 years in prison, with the requirement to serve at least half. Garcia was charged after swearing at Judge Alice Tracy during a 2013 bond court appearance in Aurora, a move which prompted Tracy to cite him with contempt of court. After being escorted to a booking area at the Aurora Police Department, Garcia said “when he got out he was going to break the judge’s (expletive) neck,” according to trial testimony cited in the appellate decision.
Additional testimony from an Aurora detention officer, as well as a Kane County sheriff’s department deputy, said Garcia ranted further that he was “at war with APD” and “had AK-47s.”
“I’m going to blow this place up. I’ll kill that (expletive),” Garcia said, according to the officers who were with him before being sent to the Kane County Jail.
An Aurora police officer wrote up an incident report and informed Tracy of Garcia’s threat. At trial, Garcia denied he threatened Tracy, saying instead his animosity was directed toward police, the ruling states. Jurors didn’t agree and convicted him during the September 2013 trial.
Garcia’s appeal was based on the argument that he made a threat about the judge but did not make it directly to her or in her presence. He also contended that there was no evidence to suggest he wanted the police officers to tell Tracy of his threat, according to the appellate decision. The appellate court noted no law or logic existed to think such a request was required to be convicted of making a threat, or that police wouldn’t report the threat to the judge.
“The jury could reasonably conclude that (Garcia) was not so uncommonly naive as to believe otherwise,” the court wrote.
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Prior to his sentence in this case, Garcia served time for attempted carjacking, resisting police and a weapons-related charge since 2006.
Dan Campana is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News