Orange County

Witness: 'Does not surprise me in the slightest’ man who shot at cars near Mills 50 neighborhood admitted to drug use

A witness said they were not surprised that the man who crashed his car then fired rounds at his own and other vehicles admitted to ‘dropping acid’ beforehand.

Police responded around 9:50 p.m Thursday to the Mills 50 neighborhood at Fern Creek Avenue and East Colonial Drive.

A woman said she witnessed 25-year-old Ricardo Leon Garcia crash into a vehicle near the intersection, step out of the car and start shooting at the crashed car.

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The woman said once she saw the man had a gun and she tried to leave the area. She was unable to drive forward due to other vehicles in the way, so she put her car in reverse.

The woman said she drove through a fenced-in construction site when Leon Garcia started to walk toward her and began shooting at her vehicle.

The woman said she threw herself onto the passenger side floor so she would not get shot.

A perimeter was established and Leon Garcia was found walking. He was apprehended without incident in a parking lot in the 1900 block of East Colonial Drive.

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The firearm was recovered when Leon Garcia was apprehended, police said. Several shell casings were also found at the scene of the shooting.

During an interview with police, Leon Garcia admitted to owning a firearm and asked where his “40” was, police said.

According to a report, Leon Garcia also admitted to “dropping acid” earlier in the day and just started shooting after the accident.

Leon Garcia was charged with attempted second-degree murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, open carry of firearm and resisting officers without violence.

“It’s very nerve-wracking,” said witness Alexander Jimenez. “It’s kind of scary to know these kind of things do happen.”

Edwin Torres said he found a bullet right outside the door to his work last night.

“I actually (saw) a car drive through the fence into the empty lot in front of the shop here, and that’s how I knew something got serious,” Torres said. “He caused an accident, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and immediately decided to pull out a gun and started firing at his car, as well as other people. So it does not surprise me in the slightest that drugs were involved.”

Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.

Katlyn Brieskorn, WFTV.com

Katlyn Brieskorn is a Digital Assignment Editor at WFTV. She joined Channel 9 in July 2019.