Jurors found Joseph Ashley Garcia guilty of first-degree murder and rejected his insanity defense.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. — A Lompoc man convicted of setting his 68-year-old father on fire during a 2022 fight is awaiting sentencing after a Santa Barbara County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and legally sane.

The verdict against Joseph Ashley Garcia, 44, moved the case from a yearslong murder prosecution toward a mandatory life sentence without parole. Jurors found true a special circumstance of torture in the death of Joseph Michael Garcia, who suffered second- and third-degree burns over 35% of his body and died 10 days later from septic shock.

Garcia’s sentencing is scheduled for June 6 in Santa Maria Superior Court before Judge Stephen Dunkle, according to accounts of the court record. The punishment is tied to the torture finding, which raised the case beyond an ordinary murder conviction. District Attorney John Savrnoch called the case one of the most disturbing his office has prosecuted and said the jury held Garcia fully accountable. Senior Deputy District Attorney Madison Whitmore prosecuted the case after the June 11, 2022, attack at a home in the 200 block of North D Street in Lompoc. Garcia remains in custody while the court prepares for sentencing. The defense had sought a finding that he was not guilty by reason of insanity, but the same jury that decided the murder phase rejected that claim in a later sanity phase.

The case began as a domestic dispute call on a Saturday afternoon. Lompoc police were sent to the North D Street home at about 3:30 p.m. after a report that a father and son were fighting. Officers arrived to find the home locked and the situation still unfolding inside. Lompoc Police Detective Elizabeth Renner and Officer Sergio Peralta saw Joseph Michael Garcia inside with his small terrier, Charlie, on his lap, according to court accounts. Sgt. Jorge Magana also arrived, and officers tried to get Joseph Ashley Garcia to cooperate. The older man’s cries for help and the dog’s barking could be heard as officers forced their way in. Once inside, they found Joseph Michael Garcia’s head and upper body burning. Officers put out the flames. Garcia then surrendered.

Jurors heard that Garcia poured a flammable liquid onto his father and ignited it. During trial testimony, Garcia admitted he poured what he estimated was 3 to 4 ounces of tiki torch oil or acetone from a bottle onto his father’s head before setting him on fire. He denied that he meant to kill his father and said he wanted to burn his hair, but Whitmore pressed him on whether his actions matched that claim. “You didn’t do what you needed to do to only burn his hair, right?” Whitmore asked. “I guess I’d agree with that,” Garcia said. Prosecutors argued the evidence showed intent, cruelty and knowledge of wrongdoing, not an accident or a brief act without awareness of the harm.

The fire left Joseph Michael Garcia critically injured. He was first taken for emergency treatment and later moved to a burn center. Doctors documented deep burns across more than a third of his body. He died 10 days after the attack while undergoing treatment that included skin graft surgery. Charlie also suffered serious burns but survived after fleeing the house. The dog was later captured, cared for by a Los Alamos resident and placed in a new home. Investigators reported finding a bottle partly filled with acetone, a lighter and a large machete at the scene. Garcia was charged in July 2022 with murder, animal cruelty and sentencing enhancements, including torture and use of a deadly weapon. Local reports differ on the final animal cruelty count, but the murder and torture findings were central to the sentence he now faces.

The trial focused in part on Garcia’s state of mind. He had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, which led to a two-stage process. In the first phase, jurors weighed whether prosecutors proved the criminal charges. In the second, they heard mental health evidence on whether Garcia was legally sane at the time. Attorneys on both sides agreed Garcia suffered from a delusional disorder, but they split sharply on what that meant under California law. Defense attorney George Steele argued that Garcia did not understand the wrongfulness of his conduct. Whitmore argued that Garcia’s own testimony showed he knew what he was doing and wanted public attention for claims he was making about his father and others.

Garcia testified that he believed his spouse, father, landlords and others were part of a criminal network. He also said he suspected police when they arrived and thought they were connected to his father. In court, he acknowledged regular cannabis use and said he had begun using methamphetamine. Prosecutors said he had accused his father of having an affair with his spouse before the attack. Garcia also admitted that after the flames spread, he did not yell for help or urge police to help his father. Whitmore asked whether he was more concerned about himself than his father. “I suppose so,” Garcia answered. The prosecution used that exchange to argue that his conduct after the fire showed awareness and self-protection.

On April 13, jurors convicted Garcia of first-degree murder and found true the torture special circumstance. On April 21, after hearing from psychologists during the sanity phase, they found he was sane at the time of the killing. Savrnoch said the verdict sent a clear message that the community would not tolerate extreme cruelty. He also praised Whitmore, District Attorney Investigator Megan Harrison and Lompoc police personnel involved in the case. The outcome left few sentencing questions for the court because the special circumstance finding carries a mandatory life term without the possibility of parole. Garcia’s age, mental health evidence and testimony may still be discussed at sentencing, but they do not change the mandatory sentence tied to the verdict.

The case now stands at the final court step before judgment is entered. Garcia is expected to return to Santa Maria Superior Court on June 6 for sentencing, where the judge will impose the life term and may address remaining orders in the case.

Author note: Last updated May 18, 2026.