Suspect takes the stand in Clovis kidnapping trial

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- "At this time, I'd like to put Sandra Garcia on the stand," defense attorney Woodrow Nichols said.

It was a dramatic moment in court on Monday as the woman charged with kidnapping and torturing of a 13-year-old girl testified in her defense.

Sandra Garcia told the jury how she often took her boyfriend's daughter to restaurants and nail salons.

But the relationship quickly soured after the girl's father, Johan Gidstedt, evicted Garcia from his Clovis home in early 2016. Gidstedt previously testified there was tension between his children and Garcia's sons.

The eviction seemed to strike a nerve.

"I was mad," Sandra Garcia said. "I felt betrayed, and I was upset with the girls."

Garcia was so upset that prosecutors say she was the mastermind behind the kidnapping and sexual assault of Gidstedt's 13-year-old. Garcia's son is also on trial for the crime, and her cousin previously pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

Last month, the victim testified that men wearing all-black taped her body and shoved her into a trunk after she got home from school nearly eight years ago.

Authorities say the men assaulted her and tied her to a tree in a remote part of Fresno County.

During cross-examination on Monday, Garcia said she never meant for her cousin and son to take it that far.

"What was it that you wanted him to do to scare him?" the prosecutor asked. "Just to scare them," Garcia said.

"Just to put the mask on and take off the clothes or something," she added.

Garcia's testimony came after the prosecution argued for nearly four weeks. The defense's case has been much shorter, and the jury could begin deliberating as soon as Tuesday afternoon.

If convicted, Garcia and her son could face life in prison.

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