A Washington man was sentenced to 99 years in prison for the poisoning murder of a prominent gay surgeon in Alaska on April 9, according to a statement from the State of Alaska Department of Law.
Jordan Joplin, 38, was found guilty last year of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the case of his lover Dr. Eric Garcia at the surgeon’s home in Ketchikan on or around March 17, 2017.
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Joplin previously worked as an adult film star. He was known as Zack on Sean Cody, Logan Cruise on Men.com and Bromo, and Rob Stonebridge on Randy Blue.
An autopsy showed Garcia, 58, died from a lethal dose of morphine, methadone, diazepam, and lorazepam. Also on March 17, Joplin took delivery of three shipping containers at the surgeon’s home, which he filled with over two tons of Garcia’s items and shipped to his own residence in Washington.
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Prosecutors claimed Joplin targeted Garcia and manipulated his emotions as part of a plan to kill and rob the popular and kind-hearted local surgeon, going so far as to schedule delivery of the shipping containers and plan the murder well in advance.
Judge Michael Woverton described the crime as “brazen and craven” and said the people of Alaska demanded the imposition of a severe sentence. He directly admonished Joplin for the senseless nature of the crime.
“You had access to Dr. Garcia’s wealth,” Wolverton said, according to Alaska Public Media. “He wasn’t withholding.”
Joplin told authorities he traveled to meet Garcia at his Ketchikan home on March 15 and returned to his own home in Washington on March 17. He called Ketchikan police on March 18 to report Garcia missing, saying the surgeon was supposed to meet him in Washington but had never arrived. On March 27, Joplin returned to Ketchikan and requested a welfare check on Garcia at his home.
Police noted at the time Joplin was driving Garcia’s truck and used Garcia’s keys both to the truck and the house.
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The alarm on the home was already disabled and police found Garcia’s lifeless body. Following last week’s sentencing, police revealed in a statement that video footage dated March 17 and later recovered on Joplin’s phone showed Garcia struggling to breathe while in the same clothing and position as he was later found dead.
Police quickly discovered a significant amount of personal belongings were missing from Garcia’s home, including “electronics, a valuable collection of coins, watches and jewelry valued over $50,000, and a collection of liquor valued at over $320,000.” They later learned Joplin loaded these items onto the shipping containers on March 17 before using Garcia’s truck to drive to the airport. Banking records also show Joplin stole more than $30,000 in transfers from Garcia’s accounts from March 16 to March 30.
Garcia was remembered as a skilled surgeon and loving person with little time for himself. His brother, Saul Garcia, recalled at the sentencing hearing how he was approached by a group of Spanish-speaking workers while dining recently at a local restaurant. The workers told Saul his brother provided medicine to the community when they couldn’t afford it.
“They recounted how comfortable they felt to have access to a Spanish-speaking medical professional, that related to their culture,” Saul recalled. “They were worried about the future of their medical care, as they didn’t feel comfortable speaking English.”
When allowed to speak, Joplin remained defiant, having his attorney Lars Johnson read a prepared statement.
“Mr. Joplin has asked me to note that he acknowledges Dr. Garcia’s death and the effect it had on the family and Dr. Garcia’s friends and the community of Ketchikan and that he maintains his innocence of the crime,” Johnson read to the court.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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