Ramah Man Gets Nine Years for Shooting Into Occupied Vehicle

Leon Garcia, 42, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from the Ramah area, was sentenced March 5 to nine years in federal prison for firing multiple rifle shots into a vehicle carrying three people following a near-collision on the Ramah Navajo Reservation in Cibola County.

According to court documents, the incident began on March 18, 2025, when a driver swerved to avoid colliding with Garcia's blue Jeep. Rather than the encounter ending there, the driver followed Garcia to a residence on the reservation. When both vehicles stopped, Garcia stepped out armed with a rifle, pointed it at the three occupants, and opened fire with intent to do bodily harm. He kept shooting as the victims tried to turn their vehicle around and continued firing as they drove away.

Garcia pleaded guilty to three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He faced a sentencing range of not less than seven years and up to life in prison. The nine-year sentence handed down puts him near the low end of that range. Upon his release, Garcia will be subject to a term of supervised release.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the Ramah-Navajo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan prosecuted. Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office, announced the case.