‘Something to make you sneeze’: Shooter threatened to kill Lubbock federal judge

LUBBOCK, Texas — Daniel Ray Garcia, 45, who was previously sentenced to life in prison for shooting a Seagraves Police officer, agreed to plead guilty to threatening to kill a federal judge in Lubbock, according to court documents obtained Thursday.

Garcia agreed to plead guilty to Mailing a Threatening Communication to a United States Judge. If his plea is accepted, he will be sentenced at a later date.

Federal court documents stated in July of 2023, Garcia, who was at the prison in Midway, mailed a letter to the judge in Lubbock. Court documents stated Garcia made multiple threats in the letter and demanded the judge take certain action in one of his cases.

Garcia wrote, “I will have you killed!” He also wrote, “Here [is] something to make you sneeze.”

According to court documents, Garcia admitted he understood the threatening nature of the letter.

The shooting Garcia was initially sentenced to prison for happened on April 29, 2019.

The officer, Matthew Zalewski, tried to make a traffic stop near the intersection of 9th street and Avenue J, and Garcia led him on a brief chase, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. Then Garcia pulled over and started shooting at Zalewski while walking towards him, according to authorities. The two exchanged gunfire, and both were injured.

EverythingLubbock.com obtained court records that showed Garcia had filed more than a dozen federal complaints since the shooting. The complaints were against the Gaines County Jail, University Medical Center, Zalewski and many others. Every complaint was either dismissed or terminated.

As of Thursday, Garcia remained in federal custody.

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