Utah Teen Sentenced for February Robbing and Killing of Sikh American Convenience Store Owner Satnam Singh
- Anthony Garcia, 16, was tried as an adult and will serve two consecutive terms of 5 years to life.
Utah teenager Anthony Garcia was sentenced on Nov. 24 to two consecutive terms of five years to life, with credit for time served, for the February robbing and killing of Satnam Singh, a convenience store owner in Ogden, Utah. In October, Garcia, 16, pled guilty to aggravated robbery and discharge of a dangerous weapon, “a deal that Singh’s family agreed to,” The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
According to the report, Garcia was initially charged with two first-degree felony counts of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. “The aggravated murder charge was amended to a first-degree felony count of discharge of a weapon involving serious bodily harm or death in exchange for his guilty plea,” the report said, citing court documents.
Garcia was 15 at the time he entered Super Grocery on Feb. 28. At the counter, Garcia is said to have pointed a gun at Singh. Then after telling him “this is a stick-up,” he pulled the trigger four times. Singh, 65, was struck twice and died on the scene.
Garcia fled on foot. Police found him two days later when they were called to an unspecified “juvenile disturbance” at a home, the Standard-Examiner reported at the time. When the police arrived on the scene, they were told that the 15-year-old boy there was the killer in the grocery shooting. Officers also found clothing identical to that seen on the security video at the store. They also found a gun, allegedly used in the shooting.
Garcia was tried as an adult, but will be held in juvenile detention until he is 21. At that time, he will be eligible for parole. “If parole is not granted, he will be transferred to the Utah State Prison,” the Sal Lake Tribune report said.
Singh’s online obituary says he was born in Punjab and immigrated to the U.S. in 1987. He owned and ran the Super Grocery for 21 years. He is survived by his wife Rashpal Kaur, his daughters: Tajinder Kaur, Amandeep Kaur, and Bhavjeet Kaur, and an extended family of sisters and brothers.
Singh was loved in the Ogden community, and a memorial of candles and flowers was placed outside of his store after his death, according to FOX13. “Twenty-one years of a community legacy represents a lifetime of tradition, faith, honor, and love,” the family said in a statement. “We encourage everyone to continue Satnam Singh’s legacy of love.”