A Durango man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday for physically assaulting his girlfriend two years ago.
In August 2023, Orlando Garcia, 50, assaulted his girlfriend of more than two years and strangled her to the point that she lost consciousness multiple times at their shared residence, according to court records and trial testimony.
A jury found Garcia guilty on one count of first-degree assault after a trial earlier this year.
On the evening of the assault, Garcia stalked his then-girlfriend to a friend’s house. Upset over her presence at the house, he yelled at her and struck her on both sides of the face, causing a black eye, bruised nose and facial swelling.
Immediately afterward, they drove separate vehicles to their home. Garcia exited his car, ripped her from her vehicle, struck her in the face and strangled her until she lost consciousness.
Garcia continued to kick, hit and strangle her intermittently over the course of the next several hours, and she lost consciousness multiple times.
The next morning, his girlfriend drove herself to the hospital in severe pain, where a forensic nurse examiner conducted an evaluation.
At the sentencing hearing, presided over by 6th Judicial District Judge Kim Shropshire, statements read by survivors of Garcia’s violence and his family members painted two contrasting portraits of Garcia, said District Attorney Sean Murray.
As Garcia’s girlfriend and another former victim read their statements, their hands trembled at the memories of the violence they had survived, Murray said.
Garcia’s family spoke of him in a more positive light and recounted his extensive community involvement, Murray said.
Murray said Shropshire noted the differing accounts when she handed down the prison sentence and acknowledged that the victim’s physical shaking demonstrated the deep emotional impact Garcia had on the woman he assaulted, which supported the sentence’s appropriateness.
“A major goal of ours is to send a message that acts of violence won't be tolerated,” Murray said following the hearing.
In Colorado, first-degree assault convictions carry a mandatory sentence of 10 to 32 years in prison.
The outcome of Garcia’s trial sends a message to the community and to similarly situated defendants that the District Attorney’s Office takes such cases seriously and will do everything it can to protect domestic violence survivors, Murray said.
“It (domestic violence) happens behind closed doors, and it’s not something that you see, like with a stranger assaulting somebody else,” Murray said. “It’s not always reported and so it’s something that we want to address, and we want to address effectively.”
According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men aged 18 and older in the U.S. have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
Those statistics are widely acknowledged to be lower than the actual rate of intimate partner violence. Domestic violence is known to be drastically underreported, sometimes referred to as “the invisible epidemic.”
Murray attributed the successful prosecution to strong partnerships with Carmen Lewis, director of Rise Above Violence – a domestic violence advocacy group in Pagosa Springs – who testified as an expert, and forensic nurse Bethany Bernal.
“That really made a huge difference – having those witnesses be able to assist,” Murray said.
Those who have experienced intimate partner violence or are experiencing abuse are urged to call Alternative Horizons’ 24-hour support line at (970) 247-9679.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
