NEW HAVEN — A Danbury man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for fatally shooting a driver on I-84 in 2000.
Alex Garcia was sentenced by a federal judge Wednesday after pleading guilty to causing a death through the use of a firearm. Prosecutors say 38-year-old Garcia was a passenger in a vehicle on Interstate 84 in Danbury when he used an assault rifle to shoot 28-year-old Mark Rebong, who was driving to work in another vehicle around 11 p.m.
Prosecutors say Garcia shot Rebong to maintain or improve his position in the Latin Kings gang. The driver of Garcia’s car, a high-ranking member of the Latin Kings, saw Rebong driving, and told Garcia to shoot at Rebong’s car.
They say Rebong wasn’t involved in any criminal activity and wasn’t a part of a gang.
“In a reckless act of brutal violence, this defendant murdered an innocent young man who was driving to work,” said U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly.
Rebong was found on the highway in the idling vehicle off exit 2.
Garcia’s 30-year sentence will run concurrently with an unrelated 40-year sentence he’s serving for attempted murder and assault.
