Zachary Garcia Googles Himself: He's Wrongfully Accused of Murder!

By: Caroline Black
Topics: Daily Blotter

Univ. of Florida Student Zachary Garcia Googles Himself, Finds He is Accused of Murder

Zachary Garcia/Univ. of Fla. student, and Zachery Garcia/murder suspect (CBS affiliate WTSP)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (CBS/WTSP) At one time or another most people have Googled themselves... and been disappointed to discover other people with the same name, a little higher up on the food chain.

And then there's the University of Florida student who innocently searched for his name, found it... and was stunned to learn that he was being accused of murder!

Luckily, Zachary Garcia was able to resolve the confusion with the Polk County Sheriff's Office who apparently mistakenly released his photo in connection with a September killing, reports CBS affiliate WTSP.

Investigators say they originally released a driver's license photo of Zachary Garcia, spelled with an "A" and then another "A," when in reality the person charged in connection with the murder was Zachery Garcia, spelled with an "E".

"I was just very shocked to find my picture and the article saying that I was convicted of a felony murder charge," he told WTSP, "and I was just very shocked and angry that someone put my name up there and said I did something I didn't do."

The crime Zachary Garcia was allegedly involved in occurred September 23 when four teenage boys decided to break into a home in Davenport.

During the invasion, two of the teens waited outside while the other two entered the home. A startled homeowner grabbed his gun and shot one of the teens, who later died.

Because the death occurred during the commission of a felony, all three of the surviving teens were charged with murder, including Zachery Garica - that's Zachary with an "E."

"Everybody makes mistakes," Zachary with an "A" observed. "I work at Publix and I might get somebody's sub (order) wrong. But for somebody to get (the photo of a suspect) wrong...it's not a sandwich, it's somebody's life you're playing with."

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by cybertechguy91 December 2, 2010 1:38 AM EST: I blame the media in the Tampa, FL area and the Polk County Sheriff's Department for all this.; Reply to this comment

by Wildwood1966 December 1, 2010 9:54 AM EST

so becuase the Homeowner shot the kid the others get charged with his murder? Not saying that is wrong or right but did I read that right?

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by ModMom2010 December 1, 2010 10:42 AM EST: Yes, when someone dies during the commission of a crime the perpetrators can be charged with murder even if they didn't actually do the killing. I don't know if that's the law in all of the states.


by pak31 December 1, 2010 12:37 PM EST: That is strange Wildwood, usually if one of the bad guys shoots and kills someone, then all the bad guys get charged with murder. I have never heard of this type of scenerio. But I guess they are held responsible because if they werent' committing this crime, then their friend wouldn't be dead so in a way they contributed to the event.


by dkb218 December 1, 2010 4:13 PM EST: Yep thats the way it works. If someone dies during the crime those charged with the crime will face murder. So if you commit a crime and someone attempts to stop you by firing a gun and killing 10 people in back of you, you will be charges with those 10 deaths even though you didn't have a gun.