Man sentenced to almost 9 years in prison for holding two at gunpoint in Orchards gas station incident

A 23-year-old man was sentenced earlier this month to nearly nine years in prison for holding two people at gunpoint in June 2022, including a gas station cashier.

Samuel Garcia, whose last known address was in Vancouver, pleaded guilty May 3 in Clark County Superior Court to first-degree kidnapping with a deadly weapon and attempted first-degree robbery. An additional charge of first-degree kidnapping and resisting arrest were dismissed. He was sentenced to 106 months, which was at the top of his sentencing range, court records show.

On June 9, 2022, Garcia approached a 42-year-old man who was parked outside a convenience store in the Vancouver Heights neighborhood and asked him for a ride, Vancouver police said. The man agreed, and when Garcia got inside his car, Garcia pulled out a screwdriver and threatened him with it. Garcia demanded the man drive him around the city and also threatened him with a gun, according to a probable cause affidavit.

After four hours of driving, the man told Garcia he needed to stop for gas. They stopped at a Chevron at 12100 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd., and Garcia followed the man toward the cashier. At one point, Garcia put his arm around the man and held a gun, which was concealed in a backpack, to his back, the affidavit states.

When the man and Garcia walked back toward the pumps, he pushed Garcia to try to get away. The two fell to the ground fighting. The man broke away and ran inside the store, according to the affidavit. He yelled to the cashier to call 911 and locked himself inside the restroom.

Garcia then came inside the store, held the gun inside the backpack toward the cashier and told him he needed a ride, according to court records. When police arrived, Garcia ducked behind the cashier, the affidavit states, and used him as a shield while holding the concealed gun to his back.

Garcia refused to comply with orders to release the cashier, according to police, and “force was used to separate them.” He was taken to an area hospital to be treated for minor injuries and observed because of suspected drug use, according to police.