Mercurial boxer Ryan Garcia got a break Tuesday when a judge dismissed a misdemeanor vandalism charge against him over the objections of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Judge James P. Cooper III granted a civil compromise at the Los Angeles Airport Courthouse, noting that Garcia had paid restitution of approximately $15,000 to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Beverly Hills for damages resulting of an incident on June 8 during which he allegedly damaged property in his room and the hallway.
Garcia had no criminal record and was hospitalized after his arrest, but LA County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a press release after the arrest that the popular lightweight boxer would be held responsible.
“While we are grateful that no injuries were reported in this incident, reckless behavior that damages property shows a blatant and unacceptable disregard for the safety and peace of our community,” Gascón said.
Garcia, 26, responded with a message on social media: “No way I’m going to jail. »
It turns out he was right because, as the judge noted in open court, Garcia’s payment of full restitution prompted the Waldorf Astoria to decline to pursue the case.
Cooper warned Garcia from the bench before dismissing the case, saying, “I’ve seen athletes lose their money very quickly, because people always want to be near you to party when you have money. But when that money is gone, your friends are no longer there and they no longer reach out because your money is gone. And you can watch Mike Tyson. It happened to Muhammad Ali. This happens to a lot of people in your field.
The incident marked the low point in a series of events that began with a stunning feat, an upset over Devin Haney in April in which Garcia toppled the World Boxing Council welterweight titleholder at three times on the way to a majority decision. Haney retained his title because Garcia was 3.2 pounds overweight at the time of the fight.
Eleven days later, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association. determined that Garcia had tested positive for Ostarine, a performance-enhancing drug that can stimulate muscle growth, the day before and the day of the fight. Garcia responded with mixed signals, first claiming through his lawyers that he was a victim of tainted supplements and then unleashing a rant on social media that seemed close to a confession.
“Let’s go, we are positive. Positive vibes, bruh. Yes, I’m so happy,” Garcia wrote in messages that have since been deleted. “IF***ING LIKES STEROIDS. I don’t care, I’ll never make money from boxing again. Your loss is not mine for setting me up lol, the joke is on you all. I will swallow all the steroids.
The New York State Athletic Commission suspended Garcia for one year, fined him $1.2 million and ordered him to forfeit his $1 million scholarship. Garcia, who grew up in Victorville, is eligible to fight again in New York in April if he passes a drug test.
Garcia repeatedly said on social media before the suspension was announced that he was retiring from boxing and later posted that he wanted to speak to UFC President Dana White about the possibility of joining this organization.
“I really hope boxing goes well without me,” Garcia posted. “I fought everyone and I was ready to do it. They turned there [sic] come back to me. I am innocent. I maintain that I don’t care what anyone says. Gun yo my head, I say I didn’t take a PED.
Now, however, Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) says he is training for a possible rematch with Haney (31-0, 15 KOs).
“We train every day. We have to be ready, so when Devin Haney wants it to go away again. We’ve already beaten him once… once. If we do it twice, no more debate,” Garcia told Cool Kicks.
Haney’s father, Bill, responded by saying that Garcia would have to take a drug test before a rematch could be discussed. Both sides can talk about this for a while because Garcia’s suspension doesn’t end until April 20.
Garcia’s erratic behavior has continued since the hotel incident. The World Boxing Council expelled him in July after he used racist slurs against black people and denigrated Muslims and Jews on social media. He also attacked the inclusion of LGBTQ+ music and pop culture artists at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony with a series of crude social media posts.
In court, however, the judge focused on Garcia making restitution to the hotel by dismissing the vandalism charge.
“The court makes a lot of restitution orders and I will say in 95 percent of them the victim never gets satisfaction,” Cooper said from the bench. “And I think in this situation, where the defendant has made full restitution, in a strange way he’s kind of shown a lot of remorse for what happened and I think he’s taking advantage of his walk.”
