Charges: Man held family hostage for months, assaulting, extorting, threatening them

By Ashley Imlay

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    MILLCREEK, Utah (KSL) — A man accused of holding his girlfriend’s family hostage in Millcreek for several months on the threat of violence from a “cartel” now faces numerous felony criminal charges.

Dominic Garcia, 23, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with two counts of aggravated sexual assault and seven counts of aggravated kidnapping, first-degree felonies; two counts of aggravated sexual extortion of an adult, a second-degree felony; two counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; one count each of voyeurism, child abuse and assault of a pregnant person, class A misdemeanors; and four counts of animal cruelty, a class B misdemeanor.

On May 17, officers received a 911 call from a Millcreek man reporting that Garcia, his daughter’s boyfriend, “had been holding the mother of his unborn child … and her family hostage for several months. Officers arrived on scene and Garcia was placed into custody,” the charges state.

The girlfriend, identified in court documents only as “K.S.,” told police she and Garcia moved into her parents’ home in January. Three of her siblings also lived at the home, one of whom is 17 years old.

On Feb. 16, Garcia came home with bruises on his face and blood on his clothes, according to the charges, and told the family that his mother was being abused by her boyfriend, who was a drug dealer, and that his mother had been shot.

“Garcia stated that his grandfather … was part of a cartel” and that he had killed Garcia’s mother’s abusive boyfriend, “Hector,” the charges state. Garcia allegedly told his girlfriend that Hector “had people that would kill people” in Garcia’s mother’s life, including Garcia’s girlfriend and her family.

“Garcia stated that they would be killed if they didn’t leave that night, which they did,” the charges allege. A sister of K.S., who didn’t live in the home, also joined the family in Park City, “as they were concerned for her safety.”

K.S. said Garcia told her family he was there to “protect them” from the cartel. For a month, she said the family stayed in multiple Airbnbs in Park City and southern Utah. While they were on the road, court documents say Garcia directed one of the siblings to buy a gun.

Garcia “always had a firearm within reach and would play with the guns,” according to the charges. He also “collected the family’s cellphones with a firearm in hand, told them that he was placing listening devices on the phones, and stated that he needed to monitor them so they would not be killed.”

The charges say Garcia told the girlfriend and her family that “his guys and his grandfather were mad at him” for letting the girlfriend and her family leave the house “and they would need to ask Garcia for permission to leave.”

Two of the family members “were allowed to leave the home to go to work,” while the rest of the family members were “forced to quit their jobs,” according to the charges.

“K.S. stated that Garcia would become angry very easily and kicked and strangled the family dogs, Moose and Jojo, on multiple occasions. K.S. stated that she saw Garcia get on top of Moose and strangle him with both hands. K.S. heard Moose gasping for air and she attempted to pull Garcia off of him,” police said.

On March 12, K.S. said she took a pregnancy test and found out she was pregnant with Garcia’s child. She said if she didn’t have sex with Garcia, “he would become angry and take it out on her family. K.S. stated that the family would be punished, or Garcia would tell them that they were not being protected,” the charges allege.

When she did not have sex with him for one week, Garcia “threw a glass bowl at K.S. while she was pregnant,” police said.

The girlfriend’s father reported that when Garcia moved into his home, the young man told him “about a business he had with (his grandfather), and (the father) stated they could work together to help the business succeed,” according to the charges. “Garcia told (the father) that he and (the grandfather) were doing ‘shady things’ but didn’t disclose what they were.”

The father said Garcia told him the same story about his grandfather allegedly killing the boyfriend of Garcia’s mother.

“Garcia convinced (the father) that he and his family need to flee their home in order to stay safe,” charging documents say. “While on the road, Garcia would point out people driving and state that they were ‘his people’ and they were watching out for Garcia and the family.”

While the family was in Kanab, investigators say Garcia told the family that if they didn’t comply with what Garcia and his grandfather wanted, “they would be killed.” Garcia had his gun and told the family they needed their phones so he could “review them and make sure no one was telling anyone what was happening,” police said.

“Garcia told them that if they did not comply, they would be shot on the spot,” according to the charges.

One of the siblings “began texting multiple friends details about what was going on with Garcia and her family. Garcia stated that he needed to take action against (the sibling) and he didn’t want to kill (the sibling) even though he had been told to,” police said.

The father told police he felt like he had to do what Garcia demanded or his child would be killed by the grandfather’s men.

Garcia told the sister who had texted her friends about him that his grandfather wanted to meet her and “would likely beat her” and “that the best way to take a beating was by taking an ice bath and holding your breath under ice water for as long as possible.” Garcia also forced the sister “to do vigorous workouts multiple times a day for several months as punishment for telling her friends about the situation,” charging documents state.

The charges state Garcia offered the 17-year-old sister $35 “if she allowed him to shoot her with a bb gun,” leaving welts on her body, and she agreed because she was “desperate for money.”

Garcia told the father he needed “super cars” to do business deals with his grandfather, and the father “provided Garcia with several thousand dollars to rent the cars,” and paid for Airbnbs, travel costs, guns and ammunition, totaling about $34,600, police said.

Officers later spoke to Garcia’s mother, who told them she had not been shot and her boyfriend was alive. They also spoke to the alleged cartel grandfather, who told them he had never been part of a cartel, did not shoot his daughter’s boyfriend, and had never even met his daughter’s boyfriend.

When interviewed by police, charges say Garcia told them “he did not believe that he was in danger or that anyone was coming after him. Garcia admitted that he lied and that he kept building on the lie.”

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