Wasco Mayor Garcia's lawyer says he was 'tricked' into meeting

Mayor Alex Garcia may have been lured into a meeting with individuals at a location in Bakersfield, perhaps with the intent to attack him based on his sexual orientation, his lawyer said in a statement Monday.. Meanwhile, a fellow councilmember called for him to explain himself, "or resign."

"I advised him [Alex Garcia] not to make any statements because there are a few investigations that appear to be ongoing. Based on the information we have available right now, it appears to be a situation where two individuals tricked Alex and lured him to a location in Bakersfield and then attacked him," Jared Thompson, of the Bakersfield law firm of Humphrey & Thompson, said in a statement sent to the Wasco Tribune.

"The video that is circulating shows felony conduct on the part of the individuals, not Alex. Based on Alex's sexual orientation, it appears that this could have been some kind of hate crime or homophobic attack. Essentially, we hope that any criminal investigation would focus on that."

All major social media accounts for Wasco City Mayor Alex Garcia -- including on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn -- were taken down Saturday, a day after a Facebook post emerged alleging that Garcia came to an arranged location to meet an adult posing as a 15-year-old boy "to do horrific things to the kid."

Bakersfield police confirmed they knew of the alleged incident, but little else.

"We have been made aware of the social media posts about Alex Garcia," Public Information Office Eric Celedon said in an email. "We have reached out to the person who posted the material to gain more information; however, we have not heard back. With that being said, we have no more information than the information posted. We also have no reports regarding the assault."

The original post, originating from a Facebook page called Bakersfield Crime Watch and written by "Davonn Bradley," claims that Garcia arrived with "poppers for him to try, he brought condoms, marijuana," and other sex paraphernalia. "Bradley" states in the post that he and his brother "have been setting up and playing as a 15-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl."

A video accompanying the post clearly shows Garcia apparently arriving for the alleged meeting, where he is assaulted by a man who seemingly arranged it. Parts of the audio are difficult to understand, but the dialogue reveals a heated exchange:

The voice of the unknown person says, "Come on, come on. No, no, no. Stop, come here. Come here. No, come here. Come over here....Hey, Davonn, bring him over here..... Get your - over here. I won't hurt you if you listen, bro; I won't hurt you....You better - listen, bro. I just want you to - talk ... get your - over here ... You want the police to come? ... Bring your - over here. I just want to - talk ... Stop. Just stand right here then ... take that bag off bro ... so what did you want to do (muffled) ... did you want to (muffled) ... hurt little kids (muffled) ... yeah, you did ... don't - lie to me ... that's what you doing to little kids and - .... come on, let's go ... don't you touch no - little boys no more, - no, come on ...let's go ... I still want to ask you one more question ... If you run, I swear to God, I'm going to hurt you, I got something on me that could really hurt your life right now."

"I'm sorry. Please no. I never will," Garcia responds when confronted in the video. He continues, "No. I won't." It is unclear why Garcia made these statements.

Questions remain about why Garcia showed up for the meeting, how "Bradley" arranged it, and why he and "his brother" posed as a 15-year-old boy instead of reporting any alleged crimes to the police. The nature of the threat in the video also raises concerns: "I got something on me that could really hurt your life right now."

As of Monday night, "Bradley" had not responded to attempts to reach him for comment.

Wasco City Manager Scott Hurlbert's office distributed a press release on Monday.

"The City of Wasco is aware of the social media posts involving Mayor Alex Garcia. The locations referenced in the posts are believed to be in the City of Bakersfield.

The Wasco Police Department has been in communication with the City of Bakersfield, and the Bakersfield Police Department has attempted to contact the parties responsible for the social media posts.

"The Bakersfield Police Department will handle all media inquiries and accept information provided by the public on this matter. The City of Wasco is very concerned about these allegations and will continue to cooperate with the Bakersfield Police Department and any other agencies to ensure all the facts in this matter are brought to light quickly."

When contacted on Monday, members of the council would not comment, referring to the statement from the city manager's office. But Councilmember Vincent Martinez chastised Garcia in an email statement to the Tribune on Tuesday afternoon:

"I am aware of the disgusting and disturbing allegations against our mayor," he said. "I have sat here and remained quiet the last several days awaiting a response or resignation from you."

"You are the reason people don't trust their government. You hide behind an attorney and play the victim without any explanation. You want to hide behind procedure to save your seat on the council. Just like in the past, you are using an attorney to avoid making a public statement. Since when does a victim of a crime hire an attorney before going to law enforcement to report the crime? You are not behaving like a victim and you are destroying the credibility of past and future victims with your mockery of the system."

"You continue to embarrass the city you are elected to serve with your silence."

He concluded with a call for him to step down. "Explain this situation so it makes sense or resign. It is that simple," he said.

Garcia has had at least one behavioral issue before. In May 2021, the then-mayor was arrested for driving under the influence and subsequently pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of alcohol-related reckless driving. The City Council voted to remove Garcia as mayor, not as an elected councilmember, but he was reappointed unanimously in December for a second term as mayor.

A recently married realtor, Garcia made history as the first openly LGBTQ+ official elected in Kern County. He was one of four candidates for Kern County Supervisor in District 4 earlier this year.