A teenage girl who shot and wounded a California City police officer has been sentenced to a maximum of five years in a youth facility.
Annette Garcia, sentenced Wednesday in juvenile court, also received a probationary period that cannot extend beyond her 25th birthday, the District Attorney’s Office said.
On the afternoon of April 21, Garcia, then 17, fired a shot at a van near Corwin Street and Lime Avenue, according to police. The bullet struck the van, passed through its door, and hit a package inside.
Minutes later, Officer Michael Kelakios confronted her. As soon as he stepped out of his patrol vehicle, Garcia turned and shot him, police said.
Kelakios, who suffered a leg wound, returned fire and struck Garcia in her right hip and left elbow. Additional officers arrived and took her into custody.
“I was just trying to help my family,” Garcia told officers. “They were trying to kill my family.”
She repeatedly insisted she acted to protect her family, but investigators found no evidence anyone was threatening them. A clinical psychologist later examined Garcia and determined she was competent.
An incident review board on June 5 concluded Kelakios, who recovered from his injuries, acted within department policy.
Prosecutors charged Garcia with two counts of attempted murder, assault with a gun on a peace officer, shooting at an occupied vehicle, attempted murder of a public official, carrying a loaded gun, possessing live ammunition as a minor, carrying a dirk or dagger, and resisting arrest.
A prosecutor noted Garcia had access to unsecured firearms in her mother’s home.
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