Gabriel Garcia had spent two decades moving through Colorado’s criminal justice system, accumulating charges for assault, car theft, and felony menacing before a Thursday shootout left a Lakewood police agent dead, four officers wounded, and a bystander injured.
As the community mourns Nick Graham, CBS News reported that Garcia was under the supervision of the Colorado Department of Corrections at the time of the shooting, having been released to mandatory parole just weeks earlier on September 23, 2026.
A Twenty-Year Record and the Road to Mandatory Parole
Garcia’s criminal history spans two decades. Years before Thursday’s violence, he attacked an Adams County deputy who was ultimately saved by his K-9. For that 2017 assault on a peace officer causing serious bodily injury, Garcia pleaded guilty and received a 10-year prison sentence in 2019.
The details surrounding his initial release remain sparse, but records show he was out by April 2023, when authorities charged him with violating his parole. Most recently, Garcia pleaded guilty to felony trespass of an inhabited dwelling stemming from a 2025 incident in Adams County. Sentenced to one year in prison on April 22, 2026, he served only a fraction of that time behind bars.
He received 149 days of credit for presentence confinement. Coupled with earned time credits awarded under statutory requirements, his mandatory release date arrived on September 23, 2026.
In a statement provided to CBS Colorado, the Colorado Department of Corrections extended condolences to the family of the slain Lakewood police agent and confirmed the timeline of Garcia’s supervision. The agency stated that under state law, it must provide earned time credits based on statutory requirements and department policy.
We can confirm that Gabriel Garcia was released to mandatory parole supervision on September 23, 2026, and was under the supervision of the Colorado Department of Corrections, Division of Adult Parole, at the time of the incident.
The department noted that it is conducting a thorough internal review of Garcia’s supervision while working alongside law enforcement partners on the ongoing investigation.
Support for Affected Families
Tributes have continued to grow outside the Lakewood Police Department. Authorities have directed community members wishing to support the victims to the Lakewood Police Employee Assistance Foundation, which provides direct financial assistance to the family of Graham and the other three wounded agents.
