GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Court proceedings reveal a potential pattern of behavior in regards to Yenly Garcia, the man Wyoming police believe shot and killed Mollie Schmidt.
Garcia's whereabouts are currently unknown. He's 5'10", 200lbs, and is described to have face tattoos.
Garcia has a lengthy criminal history. When he was arrested for kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon in July of 2008, he was already a four-time habitual offender.
Details of the kidnapping and assault arrest are disturbing.
In the summer of 2008, Grand Rapids police officers were flagged down by someone saying they heard a woman screaming. Officers entered an abandoned home through a broken window. The probable cause affidavit says officers found Garcia in the basement of the home pointing a gun at a woman's head.
The woman was handcuffed with duct tape over her eyes.
FOX 17 is not naming the survivor of Garcia's attack to protect her privacy.
Garcia ultimately pleaded guilty to charges of "false imprisonment" and "assault with a deadly weapon," after begging a judge for mercy. In documents before his sentencing, Garcia asked the judge for leniency and claims that he and the woman he attacked had reconciled.
A judge ultimately sentences Garcia to a minimum of eight years in prison.
When Garcia got out of prison, the survivor almost immediately got an order of protection out against Garcia. The woman said he had a lengthy history of domestic violence and that she was fearful for her life and safety knowing he was back in the Grand Rapids area, despite it being nine years since he last attacked her.
She said in the 2017 order of protection that the last time Garcia got out of jail for domestic violence after serving eight months was the time he handcuffed, duct-taped her eyes closed, and held her at gunpoint.
Anyone with information on Garcia's whereabouts is asked to call Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345.
