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Palm Valley Police Chief found guilty of tampering with government records

By: Stefany Rosales

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After nearly three hours of deliberation, a jury found Palm Valley Police Chief Alvaro Garcia guilty on all three counts of tampering with government records.

Garcia was arrested in November 2018 and pled not guilty in January 2019. The state alleges Garcia falsified and submitted documents saying three officers took a training course in person.

Garcia was reportedly an instructor for that training course that required 10 officers to be of the training for Garcia to get paid $850. The state said three officers that allegedly took the training course were not in attendance.

Six witnesses took the stand against Garcia on Tuesday, including those three officers who said they did not attend the training in person.

The defense argued the forms Garcia submitted were not government documents, or a roster and attendance sheet.

The jury deliberated on Wednesday and Thursday before coming back with a guilty verdict. 

As part of his conviction, Garcia will be stripped of all his law enforcement licenses. 

When asked what the verdict meant for his job, Palm Valley Mayor pro-tem Gilbert Lucio said the city could not comment on personnel issues.

Garcia's sentencing is scheduled for March. He faces up to 10 years in jail.

Watch the video above for the full story. 

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