Man Gets 28-Year Sentence in Rape of 79-Year-Old : Crime: The prosecution had unsuccessfully sought a murder conviction for Jose Alonso Garcia, saying he had destroyed the victim’s will to live.

A Stanton dishwasher whose rape of a 79-year-old woman resulted in a novel though unsuccessful murder prosecution was sentenced Tuesday to 28 years in state prison on sexual assault charges.

Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno described the rape of Mary Ward, an apartment complex manager, as “the most violent attack that I’ve had occasion as a trial judge to see.”

And in an aside during sentencing remarks, Briseno said the murder charges against Jose Alonso Garcia, 20, had “legal viability” but that jurors on the case decided otherwise.

The case sparked controversy because prosecutors charged Garcia with rape and murder, claiming that he killed Ward--who died a month after she was raped in May, 1992--by sapping her will to live.

But an Orange County jury, aware that the victim had a ravenous form of lung cancer, convicted Garcia of rape and five counts of sexual assault. Jurors decided there was no link between Ward’s rape and her death. An autopsy showed that Ward died from congenital heart failure and pneumonia.

Despite his strong statements Tuesday, Briseno put aside recommendations from Deputy Dist. Atty. David LaBahn and a probation officer that Garcia receive the maximum 41-year term.

The probation officer, Leticia Chamberlain, included in her report impassioned pleas from several members of Ward’s Jehovah Witness church in Anaheim who urged the court not to spare Garcia.

“No mercy was shown Mary that night,” wrote Mike and Diane Meyer of Anaheim. “This man left behind a dead person void of spirit. Mary lost her will to (live). . . . Jose Garcia does not deserve mercy, but to be denied of his freedom for a very long time.”

Several members of Ward’s congregation showed up for the sentencing.

Before the attack, Ward helped manage a Stanton apartment complex, collecting rents and handling complaints.

Ward woke about 2:30 a.m. on May 22, 1992, to find a stranger splashing in the complex pool outside her bedroom window. She ventured outside to tell the man to go away but turned and ran inside to call 911 when he came toward her.

Authorities said Garcia followed Ward inside and began sexually assaulting her. County sheriff’s deputies responding to the call captured Garcia in the act, officials said.

Ward later told hospital officials she wished she had died. Friends said she was fearful and was never herself after the attack.

In the probation report, Chamberlain also said that Garcia was remorseful for the attack and that during a recent interview he “became tearful and said he would like to speak with his mother and give her whatever love he has left to give her. He would also like to ask God’s forgiveness for what he has done.”

Garcia, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, grew up in poverty and came from a broken family, Chamberlain said.

Garcia hung his head throughout the sentencing proceeding as his lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Leonard Gumlia, asked the judge for leniency. Garcia’s attack was not premeditated, he said, but was induced by drugs and alcohol.

“He is dealing with it in his own personal battle with his God, hoping he forgives him and he goes to heaven some day,” Gumlia said.

Garcia may be eligible for parole in about 12 years, LaBahn said.

LaBahn said he was disappointed that the judge did not impose the maximum punishment, while Gumlia said the sentence was too severe.

Ruben Salgado, a lawyer who monitored the trial for the Mexican Consulate in Santa Ana, said he was relieved that Garcia did not get the maximum sentence. During the trial Salgado called that the murder charge against Garcia was “a far-fetched, wild theory” and that the district attorney’s office was discriminating against a Mexican immigrant in filing those charges.

“The jury decided fairly, but it’s sad to see that many people still do not want to believe how Mary Ward died,” Salgado said.