Idaho man arrested after allegedly kidnapping and beating 22-year-old found on driveway to death
11/18/2021 3:18 pm PST
NAMPA, Idaho (TCD) -- A 25-year-old man was arrested last week for allegedly abducting and killing a man who was found unconscious on a residential driveway.
According to a news release from the Nampa Police Department, 22-year-old Luis Garcia’s family reported him missing on Nov. 5, and the department opened an investigation into his disappearance.
Nampa Police said officers from the Caldwell Police Department found Garcia on Nov. 6 lying in the driveway of a Boise Avenue home. Nampa Police said Garcia suffered "numerous injuries." KTVB-TV reports these injuries included substantial cuts on his stomach and leg.
He was still alive when officers found him, and he was transported to a local hospital, where he died from his wounds. Nampa Police said his cause of death was blunt-force trauma.
Citing the affidavit, KTVB says Tomas Pina Sarmiento allegedly helped kidnap Garcia from a Walmart, blindfolded and tied him up, and then transported him to a Nampa home. A witness reportedly said Garcia was brutally beaten by three men and hit with a golf club. According to KTVB, Garcia called a relative, explaining that he was "in trouble" and needed money. An unidentified man took the phone and said they "needed $2,000 and that if he did not give them the $2,000, something bad would happen," KTVB reports.
The motive for the kidnapping and murder is unknown. Nampa Police Lt. Jason Kimball said more arrests are possible.
According to KTVB, a criminal complaint says Sarmiento intentionally killed Garcia "by beating him in the head from which he died." To destroy the criminal evidence, Sarmiento allegedly hid or destroyed bedding, clothing, and blood.
Sarmiento was arrested Nov. 12, the Nampa Police Department said in a news release. Canyon County Jail Records show Sarmiento faces multiple charges including murder, destroying evidence, first-degree kidnapping, and a probation violation.
KTVB reports that Sarmiento had been released from custody Nov. 3. He was serving a seven-year prison sentence from a 2020 purse-snatching case but was ordered freed on probation. Following Garcia’s death, Sarmiento’s probation officer reportedly noted the kidnapping and killing as a reason to revoke his probation.
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