Judge Joseph Montano sentenced Izaiah Garcia to life plus 13 years in the New Mexico Department of Corrections for the murder of 21-year-old Cayla Campos. Garcia was convicted of first-degree murder on February 29, 2024. This sentence will run consecutively to a previous life sentence Garcia received for the murder of Sean Markey, also prosecuted by the same team of attorneys. Consecutive life sentences mean he must serve the sentence for Markey’s murder before he starts serving his sentence for Campos’s murder.
In 2019, while playing Pokémon Go in Albuquerque’s Bianchetti Park, Cayla Campos and her boyfriend witnessed Garcia robbing three teenagers at gunpoint. As they tried to leave, Garcia chased and shot at them with an assault rifle, hitting and killing Campos.
“Today’s sentencing of Izaiah Garcia reflects our commitment to seeking justice and holding violent offenders accountable,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “Cayla’s family highlighted her dreams of a medical career and the meaningful life she had with her loved ones. I hope this sentence provides the Campos family with some closure. As Carl Campos expressed during the sentencing, his daughter’s life will be celebrated while Izaiah Garcia’s will be behind bars.”
During the sentencing, Cayla Campos’s family delivered heartfelt statements, vividly expressing their profound grief and loss. Cayla had aspired to become an oral surgeon and dreamed of having six children, mirroring the family life of her grandparents.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General John Duran and Assistant Attorney General Jennifyr Vickery.
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