An attorney representing Luis Garcia’s family expressed frustration with the Denver District Attorney’s Office a week after a judge dismissed their lawsuit against Denver Public Schools over the murder of the East High School student more than two years ago.
The 16-year-old was shot while sitting in his car outside of the school on Feb. 13, 2023, and died more than two weeks later. Luis’s death was one of two high-profile shootings at East two years ago.
The Denver Police Department’s investigation into the shooting remains open and no one has been arrested, despite the family’s lawsuit against DPS alleging that authorities know who killed Luis.
“For whatever reason, the district attorney’s office refuses to charge this person,” said Matthew Barringer, the family’s attorney, in an interview Thursday. “…You still have a dead kid that no one in city government seems to care about.”
The Denver District Attorney’s Office did not immediately provide a response on Friday.
The teen’s family sued Denver Public Schools and the Board of Education last year in an effort to hold the district liable for the shooting via the state’s Claire Davis School Safety Act.
The lawsuit argued that DPS officials didn’t do enough to protect students because the district had removed school resource officers from campus years earlier.
But Denver District Judge Kandace Gerdes dismissed the lawsuit on July 18, agreeing with DPS attorneys that the shooting didn’t occur on school property, but rather on a public roadway in front of East.
“DPS extends its deepest sympathies to the Garcia-Bobadilla family and all affected by Luis’s loss,” district spokesman Bill Good said in a statement. “The court ruled the 2023 shooting, though tragic, did not occur on Denver Public Schools property, releasing the district of any responsibility.”
Barringer said he is appealing the judge’s ruling.
“While we respect her order, obviously we disagree with it,” he said.
Gerdes’s order dismissing the lawsuit said attorneys for both DPS and the Garcia family claimed Luis was murdered by a person identified in court documents only as A.A.
A.A. is a minor and did not attend East, according to court documents.
The Garcia family also sued A.A. and their parent, but neither has acknowledged the lawsuit or shown up in court, Barringer said.
Denver police initially said after the shooting that they were investigating a 17-year-old for illegal possession of a handgun and a 16-year-old for auto theft and felony eluding. But neither were arrested on charges related to Luis’s death.
“Does anyone not want to give any justice to this family?” Barringer said. “It’s not like they don’t know who this person is.”
On Feb. 13, 2023, A.A. stole a white Kia Sportage, picked up another person and went “joy riding” around the city, the lawsuit alleged.
A.A. had firearms, ammunition and other weapons — including a Fifth Generation Glock Model G45 that was used during the shooting, according to court documents.
Luis left East that afternoon in a black Honda Accord, traveling north on City Park Esplanade, which is the road in front of the high school. A.A. drove east on East 17th Avenue and the two reached the intersection of the two streets just after 2:30 p.m, according to the judge’s order.
A.A. then ran a red light and stopped in the intersection with his car in front of Luis’s vehicle. A.A. began shooting out a passenger-side window and fired as many as eight shots at Luis before fleeing, according to court documents.
Luis, who was shot in the head, was taken to Denver Health, where he later died.
“All the Garcias have ever wanted in this…was some sort of peace and some sort of closure,” Barringer said. ”It’s astonishing to me that the Denver District Attorney’s Office refuses to give them (any).”
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