Grand jury indicts former COSA supervisor accused of pawning stolen tools

Richard Garcia faces felony charge of theft by a public servant

SAN ANTONIO – A former city of San Antonio maintenance supervisor accused of stealing tools from the Central Library and then pawning them at several area shops has been indicted by a grand jury, the Bexar County District Attorney's Office confirmed Friday.

Richard Garcia faces a felony charge of theft by a public servant.

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Records show he was arrested after being indicted by a grand jury in late June.

Garcia, a 17-year veteran of the U.S. Army, was reported by an official with the city's Office of Municipal Integrity to San Antonio police earlier this year.

SAPD records confirm that investigators were able to recover items allegedly taken by Garcia from three San Antonio pawn shops.

The hundreds of dollars' worth of recovered tools consisted of a motorized heavy-duty drain cleaner, a 6-foot level, an inspection camera, a hammer drill and a reciprocating saw, according to SAPD records.

The case was then handed over to the Bexar County District Attorney's Office in April.

Garcia, who resigned his maintenance supervisor position in early March, is now free on bond, according to county court records. His trial is scheduled for January.

Garcia had received positive employee reviews, and as recently as 2015, he was described as an "excellent employee," according to his personnel file.


About the Author:

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.