Gabriel Steven Garcia has been identified as the suspect who killed Lakewood cop, Nicholas ‘Nick’ Alan Graham, and injured three others on Thursday. The suspect was killed in the shootout which also left one civilian injured.
On Thursday, a hit-and-run suspect was involved in a crash which took place near Kipling and West 13th Avenue just before 3:45pm. Hours later a Lakewood cop recognized the suspect getting aboard an RTD bus. When officers approached him, the suspect opened fire. Cops shot back, killing the man on the scene.
Now, it has been reported that Garcia had an extensive past criminal record and had only been released on parole this September, as per NBC-affiliated 9News.
Gabriel Steven Garcia's past crimes
Garcia, 34, has an extensive criminal record including a 2017 case where he reportedly attacked, punched, and tried to strangle an Adam County Sheriff’s deputy. Then, in 2019, he started to serve a 10-year jail sentence after he pled guilty to felony assault.
Garcia was reportedly paroled then in December 2022. Again, in 2023, Garcia entered an apartment in Thornton and took a shower, for which he was reportedly charged with felony trespassing. He got a year behind bars for this incident.
{{/usCountry}}Garcia was reportedly paroled then in December 2022. Again, in 2023, Garcia entered an apartment in Thornton and took a shower, for which he was reportedly charged with felony trespassing. He got a year behind bars for this incident.
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The report noted that Garcia was again released on parole on September 23, 2026 and was listed as an absconder two days later. Then, on September 28, he was reportedly picked up by the Broomfield Police and kept in custody until October 20. It remains unknown why Garcia was listed as an absconder by the Colorado Department of Corrections, a term used when parolees don't check in with parole. It also remains unknown why Broomfield released Garcia back to parole just two weeks before the tragic shootout.
What happened in the 2017 attack on cop
In the 2017 case, Garcia reportedly attacked the cop who was responding to a trespassing call. The report notes that Garcia allegedly ran from the deputy when he was informed of warrants out for his arrest.
The cop had said that after a brief chase, Garcia began “punching him in the face” before knocking the cop to the ground. The report further noted that Garcia was able to get on the cop's back and began to strangle him. The cop further recounted that he felt Garcia grab his handgun which was in his duty holster on the belt, the report noted.
At one point, Garcia reportedly “rolled and began biting” the cop's left arm. The attack stopped only when the sheriff department's K-9 was released on Garcia.