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Holmark Garces, age 35, of Bay Shore, was found guilty of kidnapping and related charges by a Suffolk County jury on Thursday, May 9.
According to prosecutors, the victim moved out of Garces’ Bay Shore residence in December 2019 after he became increasingly controlling and abusive. She claimed he isolated her from her family and repeatedly took her cell phone to monitor her activity and communications.
The controlling behavior reportedly continued even after the couple split, and a judge issued a stay away order of protection on behalf of the victim in November 2020.
Over the next two years, Garces repeatedly stalked the woman at her home, job, doctor’s appointments, and gatherings with friends, prosecutors said. He was arrested in November 2021 for violating the protection order after showing up to her home and taking her cell phone.
In August 2022, Garces approached the woman in his car as she was walking alone, grabbed her arm, and tried pulling her into the vehicle. He fled when two bystanders intervened and called the police.
Prosecutors argued that the abuse culminated on the night of Oct. 12, 2022, when Garces spotted his ex-girlfriend walking home from a friend’s home in Brentwood. After pulling alongside her in his Toyota Corolla, he grabbed her by the hair, threw her to the ground, and then threw her in the backseat of his car.
Several witnesses called 911 after hearing the woman screaming for help and fighting with the man. Her screams were also recorded by nearby home surveillance cameras.
Once she was inside the vehicle, Garces drove her to Brooklyn. He held a large kitchen knife to her leg throughout the nearly hour long drive, according to prosecutors.
During the drive, the woman text her son saying that Garces had kidnapped her and to call the police. Suffolk County Police were able to track her location using GPS data from her phone that was shared with her son’s phone.
Officers located Garces’ vehicle a short time later and saw the woman in the backseat waving for help. The man initially tried fleeing before crashing his car into multiple NYPD vehicles.
“My heart goes out to the victim for her strength to testify at trial against the defendant,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
“I thank the officers in both the Suffolk County Police Department and the New York City Police Department for their investigations in this case, and my prosecutors for securing the defendant’s conviction.”
In court Thursday, jurors found Garces guilty of the following crimes:
- Second-degree kidnapping (felony)
- Criminal possession of a weapon (felony)
- Five counts of criminal contempt (felonies)
- Manacing (misdemeanor)
- Harassment (misdemeanor)
He faces up to 25 years in prison when he’s sentenced on Friday, June 14.
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