Man Pleads Not Guilty to Murder in Girl’s Fatal Fall From Truck

A plea of not guilty was entered Thursday by a 28-year-old man charged with murder in the death of a 12-year-old girl who was allegedly pushed from a moving pickup truck on Interstate 5.

Jesus Hector Garcia of City Heights is scheduled to appear in Municipal Court May 10 for a preliminary hearing. On Thursday, Municipal Judge Terry J. Knoepp set bail at $500,000.

“This case is extremely serious because it involves different factors,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Aaron Katz said outside the courtroom. The suspect “left the scene, and the case involves a 12-year-old which was either pushed or tried to escape. He also has two prior drug offenses. Bail is appropriate.”

Public Defender Alex M. Loebig Jr. disagreed.

“It is way too high,” he said. “He’s a pretty straight guy, been working, owns his own home. It was just an accident. The girl has a history of acting up. She’s a runaway. I don’t know if she was a bad person, but she was emotionally unstable. He was just giving her a ride home because her relatives asked him. She may have jumped out of the car.”

A bail review hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

“We hope to get the bail drastically reduced,” Loebig said. “We are concerned that he left the scene of the crime, and it’s too bad he did, but it was just a tragic reaction to a devastating accident that took him by surprise. He said that she got hysterical and jumped out.”

According to police, the victim “walked away” about two weeks ago from Hillcrest Receiving Home, a facility for children under county care. The mother described the girl as “incorrigible,” authorities said.

Katz said an inquiry into the incident is continuing.

“We have numerous witnesses, and police felt they had sufficient evidence to file murder charges,” he said.

A witness told police that he saw the incident about 1:30 a.m. Sunday. The witness said a red, four-wheel-drive Toyota pickup truck with oversized tires was northbound on I-5 when he saw the girl lean toward the driver, the passenger door open and the girl being ejected. The girl landed on a service road about 50 feet north of the Old Town exit.

Sylvia Marie Rodriguez died of multiple injuries, according to the coroner’s office.

Police obtained a search warrant based on information from relatives who knew the suspect. Garcia was arrested Tuesday shortly before 4 a.m. at his home in the 3400 block of 45th St. Police also recovered a 1989 red Toyota pickup with large tires.