Ricardo "Ricky" Garcia was a robber and murderer.
History[]
Garcia was a Puerto Rican small-time crook and robber who lived with his brother Tony in his apartment. His modus operandi involved deflating the tires of expensive-looking cars and lying in wait until the owners arrive, allowing him to rob them at gunpoint. After unsuccessfully trying to obtain a bottle of pills that he wanted to resell from a drugstore, he attempted to rob a woman, Virginia Watts, in that fashion, but was scared away by the arrival of her tow truck, only succeeding in taking away her sunglasses. Eventually, he tried again with Matthew Sherman, a well-respected young man on Wall Street. Sherman refused to give Garcia his watch, so Ricardo shot him to death and then fled. He then gave Sherman's wallet to Tony as rent for letting him stay in his apartment. Garcia was later arrested for shoplifting near the crime scene.
Unbeknownst to Garcia, a young man named Michael "Mike" Bodak had seen him near the scene just after helping Sherman with his flat tire. Briefly considered a suspect by Detectives Briscoe and Curtis, Mike later led them to Garcia, who was identified by Watts as her robber. However, Mike's identification, along with a confession made by Ricky and some evidence found in his brother's apartment, was deemed inadmissible in court. Despite attempts by Tony to scare him, Mike testified against Garcia even at the risk of being incriminated for an unrelated charge, due to his second job as an illegal bookie assistant. Garcia was found guilty of murder in the first degree and presumably executed, while the charges against Mike were ultimately dropped. (L&O: "We Like Mike")