Juan Duarte Raya, a 19-year-old from Palm Springs, California, was tragically killed on February 3, 2019. Duarte Raya, along with his friends Jacob Montgomery and Yuliana Garcia, was found dead in his car with gunshot wounds. The vehicle had crashed near Sunny Dunes Road and El Placer in Palm Springs. The three teens had been friends since middle school and were not involved in gang activities.
Duarte Raya had recently overcome significant personal challenges, including the trauma of losing his brother to brain cancer and issues with school and the law. He had earned his high school diploma and was looking forward to a promising future.
The investigation into the murders revealed that Jose Vladimir Larin Garcia was responsible for the deaths of Duarte Raya, Montgomery, Garcia, and another victim, Carlos Campos-Rivera. On the night of the murders, Larin Garcia was riding in a car with three of the victims when he met Campos-Rivera near an apartment complex. Larin Garcia shot Campos-Rivera and then continued to shoot the other three victims in the car. The bodies of Duarte Raya, Montgomery, and Garcia were found with targeted gunshot wounds to the head, and Campos-Rivera's body was discovered nearby.
Larin Garcia was found hiding under a truck near the crime scene, covered in the victims' blood. He was taken to the hospital for treatment but fled while still wearing his medical gown. He was later arrested at a Greyhound bus station, attempting to flee to Florida under a false name. Larin Garcia was charged with four counts of first-degree murder. The first trial ended in a mistrial, but a second trial resulted in a guilty verdict. The jury found Larin Garcia guilty of the murders and recommended the death penalty, which was affirmed by a judge in February 2024. The case highlighted the brutal and senseless nature of the crime, and Larin Garcia's lack of remorse was a significant factor in the decision to impose the death penalty.
