The wife of the man who was convicted of shooting two Odessa police officers was arraigned today by an Ector County Grand Jury on charges she hindered police who were trying to arrest her husband’s arrest.
Meghan Garza, 23, was indicted by the grand jury on charges of hindering the apprehension of a known felon, a third-degree felony, possession of cocaine, a state jail felony, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a third-degree felony, which District Attorney Bobby Bland said she was being charged with as a party of her husband, Roy Garza.
Police charged Meghan Garza with possession of cocaine following a traffic stop in February 2016, where she was found to have a substance that tested positive for cocaine in her pants.
Court records list her attorney as Tony Chavez. Chavez waived her arraignment to be formally issued the charges at 3 p.m. Monday in the 161st District Court of Judge John Smith.
Police first charged Meghan Garza, along with her husband, in December 2015 following a nearly nine-hour standoff with OPD that resulted in the injury of two officers after Roy Garza shot them multiple times.
A probable cause affidavit states that Meghan Garza denied entrance to officers who had come to her Clayton Manor Town Home to serve a warrant for the arrest of her husband.
While denying officers entry, Sgt. Pedro “Pete” Gonzalez and Sgt. James Chadwick saw Roy Garza slip out of the back door of the residence near where they were stationed. Roy Garza then slipped through a door built into their fence into another residence, which he entered.
After notifying officers, Cpl. Cory Wester entered the residence and saw Roy Garza hiding in the closet of the bedroom before Garza began shooting, hitting Wester multiple times.
Roy Garza also began shooting at officers through a glass door at the back of the residence, shooting Gonzalez in the arm.
Officers finally arrested Roy Garza after he surrendered around 9 p.m., after a nine-hour standoff with police.
Roy Garza was found guilty of two counts of attempted capital murder last December and was sentenced to life in prison.
Should Meghan Garza be found guilty, she could be sentenced to anywhere between two and 10 years in prison.
Jail records show Meghan Garza was taken to the Ector County Detention Center Feb. 27 and released the same day on a $75,000 bond. No further trial dates have been set for Garza at this time.
