Viola Elizabeth Garcia, Murder for Hire, Texas 2018

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Convicted Murder for Hire Operative Faces Up to 10 Years in Prison

A federal jury in McAllen, Texas, has delivered a guilty verdict in the high-profile murder for hire case against Viola Elizabeth Garcia, a 52-year-old woman from Oxnard, California.

The conviction stems from a brazen plot orchestrated by Mexican Mafia gang members in 2018. Inmates and gang associates hatched a scheme to murder an individual residing in Mission, Texas, for a hefty sum of $20,000.

Viola Elizabeth Garcia, the mother of one of the conspirators, agreed to travel from California to Texas to carry out the murder in exchange for payment. On August 30, 2018, Garcia and her co-conspirators forcibly entered the victim’s residence in Mission and attempted to execute the murder. Their attempt was unsuccessful, and they tried to flee the scene, prompting Garcia to lead responding law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase.

During the trial, Garcia attempted to downplay her involvement, claiming she was unaware of the agreement to commit murder. She testified that her purpose for traveling to Texas was to transport co-conspirators to visit family members and to look at potential real estate for her daughter, who resides in Arizona.

The jury rejected Garcia’s claims, finding her guilty as charged. U.S. District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa presided over the trial and set sentencing for January 30, 2023. At that time, Garcia faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

The FBI conducted the investigation in collaboration with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as well as police departments in Mission and Oxnard, California.

Garcia will remain in custody pending her sentencing hearing.

Mandatory Facts: Defendant: Viola Elizabeth Garcia, Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to Commit Murder for Hire, City and State: McAllen, Texas, Date: 2018, Sentence: Up to 10 years in federal prison.