Sentencing scheduled for mastermind of Fresno County teen's 2016 kidnapping

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- More than eight years after a Fresno County teenager was shoved into a car and tied to a tree, the mastermind, Sandra Garcia, is set to be sentenced for her crime on Monday.

The young victim and her family could soon be getting closure.

"They said it was like a dark cloud over their heads, so they deserve to have this closure," Deputy District Attorney Adam Christopherson said of the victim and her family. "She will have an opportunity to give a victim impact statement and tell the court how this impacted her life."

The sentencing comes months after a jury returned a guilty verdict on all the counts against Garica and her son, Mark Anthony Roque. The convictions include kidnapping, torture, and sexual assault.

Prosecutors say Garcia was upset after her then-boyfriend evicted her from his home. That is when they say Garcia developed a plot in which her son would kidnap the girl and stuff her into a trunk as she got home from school.

That victim will now be in court on Monday. But setting the date for sentencing almost did not happen.

"We haven't really been able to build a relationship between him. Now, I just want to say that I'm not going to take, no longer have his services. I'm firing my attorney," Garica said in court.

She said she and her attorney got into an argument at the Fresno County jail on Tuesday.

With Garcia's request on the record, the judge cleared the courtroom to rule on the request.

The judge ultimately ruled the attorney would remain. He got the final say because Garcia's attorney is appointed by the court.

Although Garcia's request failed, Action News legal analyst Tony Capozzi says it could benefit her later.

"Maybe she is saying he hasn't prepared enough and is using this for a basis for a motion for a new trial or for an appeal," Capozzi said. "She's establishing a record that there's a problem with her attorney."

Garcia faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Roque will learn his sentence later this spring.

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