A Santa Barbara County man has received a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole for a domestic dispute in which he killed his father by setting him on fire.
It happened in June of 2022, in Lompoc. Police responded to reports of a domestic dispute at a home.
Joseph Ashley Garcia refused to let officers into the house. As they forced their way inside, they heard Joseph Michael Garcia screaming because his upper body had been set on fire. He died 10 days later in a hospital.
A jury convicted Garcia's son of first-degree murder, with special circumstances. In a separate hearing, jurors rejected an effort to have him declared insane.
