RACINE, Wis. — A seemingly routine transaction turned violent for a Racine man, Mario M. Garcia Jr., who now faces significant felony charges after allegedly participating in the armed robbery of a local seller over a pair of designer sunglasses. According to a criminal complaint issued by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office, the incident occurred on April 9, 2024, under the guise of a simple sale arranged via social media.
The criminal complaint: Sale of sunglasses turns violent
The victim had agreed to meet Garcia to sell a pair of $700 Cartier sunglasses. However, the situation escalated when Garcia and another individual, identified as Teneiryon Johnson, met with the victim in his vehicle near Biscayne Avenue and Southwood Drive in Racine. The meeting took a threatening turn when Johnson inquired about the balance in the victim’s Cash App account and subsequently revealed a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine.
Under the threat of violence, he was coerced into transferring $302 to Johnson through his Cash App. Johnson then physically assaulted him with the handgun, causing injury to his lip, and forcibly took the sunglasses. Johnson also threatened further harm if the victim contacted the police, ominously noting that he knew where he and his family lived.
Mario Garcia Jr. has been charged with robbery with the threat of force, as a party to a crime, and using a dangerous weapon. The charges are compounded by Garcia’s criminal record, which includes a felony conviction for selling a dangerous weapon to a child and another for theft of movable property from a person or corpse. Due to his status as a repeat offender with previous convictions, the legal stakes are even higher.
If convicted of the current charges, Garcia faces up to 15 years in prison and could be fined up to $50,000. Additionally, the use of a dangerous weapon in the commission of the crime could extend his sentence by up to six months. His repeater status could add up to six more years to his imprisonment should the court find the past offenses relevant to the severity of the current charges.
This case, surrounding designer sunglasses, underscores the dangers associated with transactions arranged through social media and highlights the importance of exercising caution and arranging meetings in public, surveilled spaces whenever possible. The Racine Police Department continues to investigate the incident and seeks further information from the public.
Editor’s note: Elements of this article were generated by ChatGPT.
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