Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Michael Garcia, a 36-year-old resident of Sacramento County, has been sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison. The sentence comes as a result of his involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy and for being a felon in possession of firearms, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith.
Court documents reveal that Michael Garcia collaborated with his wife Nancy Garcia, his father Gonzalo Garcia, Tyler Combs, and others to distribute methamphetamine and heroin across Sacramento and Solano Counties. This conspiracy began while Michael Garcia was serving time for narcotics offenses at the Tulare County Jail.
During the course of the investigation, it was found that Michael Garcia and his associates sold five pounds of methamphetamine and a quarter pound of heroin to a confidential informant over several transactions. Additionally, Michael personally sold four pounds of methamphetamine to the same informant. In parallel, Nancy Garcia negotiated an illegal firearms sale with the informant.
After being released from state custody, Michael continued the drug trafficking activities and arranged for Tyler Combs to sell firearms to the informant. This deal included ten firearms such as an unserialized machine gun. Both Nancy Garcia and Tyler Combs were present during this transaction.
A video was sent by Michael Garcia to the informant where he boasted about his drug earnings, stating “Sac money is good money.” It was also admitted by Michael and Nancy that they purchased a home in Arizona using proceeds from their drug sales. The United States is currently working on forfeiting this property.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Solano County Violent Crimes Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella led the prosecution.
Gonzalo Garcia passed away while awaiting trial for this case. Tyler Combs pleaded guilty to charges related to distributing methamphetamine and heroin as well as being a felon in possession of firearms; he received a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence on November 12, 2021. Nancy Garcia also pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to drug distribution; she was sentenced to five years in prison on September 10, 2024.
This case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative aimed at reducing violent crime through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities. The U.S Department of Justice enhanced PSN's strategy on May 26, 2021.
Additionally, this case is part of Project Guardian—an initiative started by the Department of Justice in fall 2019—to reduce gun violence through coordinated efforts among federal entities enforcing firearm laws.
For more information about Project Guardian visit www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
