El Paso Boxer Charged in Fatal Christmas Eve Crash Was Using Borrowed Car

The 24-year-old professional boxer charged in a Christmas Eve crash in which three people were killed borrowed his parent’s car, allegedly to avoid having to drive his own vehicle which was equipped with a Camera Ignition Interlock to prevent him from driving while intoxicated. That information was learned during a bond reduction hearing Monday morning.

According to published reports, the lawyer representing Joel Garcia Jr. asked the judge to lower his bond from $300,000 to $30,000 so that Garcia could "participate in his defense." Prosecutors argued his bond should be raised to $1 million because Garcia was on probation for DWI at the time of the accident, and because he deliberately evaded court orders by borrowing his parents’ car instead of driving his. Prosecutors did not say if his parents were aware of the fact that he was not supposed to drive a car without the court mandated interlock device.

The judge denied both requests to modify his bond.

Garcia, who is accused running a red light at Joe Battle and Vista Del Sol in the early morning hours of December 24 and t-boning the other vehicle while under the influence, is facing three counts of intoxicated manslaughter in the deaths of brothers Isaiah and Joshua Deal, and Joshua’s girlfriend Shannon Del Rio.

You can read more about the background of the fatal crash, and Monday’s bond hearing on KVIA.com