Roll of Honor
Ralph Lee Garcia
Incident
Corrections Officer Ralph Garcia was stabbed to death after being ambushed by nine inmates in the Guadalupe County Correctional Facility.
Officer Garcia was locking a housing door when the inmates started beating and stabbing him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Three suspects were charged and were not convicted until nine years later. One pleaded guilty and received a 29-year sentence. The suspected ringleader received a life sentence without the possibility of parole. One suspect was killed in a car fire in Bernalillo County.
In 2009, the New Mexico Department of Corrections presented Officer Garcia's family and the Guadalupe County Correction Facility with the Medal of Valor on the anniversary of the disturbance.
Corrections Officer Garcia had served with the Guadalupe County Sheriff's Department for eight months.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NM-2B528881- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Corrections Officer Garcia served with the Guadalupe County Sheriff's Department.
Thank you for your service to the Santa Rosa community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Corrections Officer Garcia.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Corrections Officer Ralph Lee Garcia is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NM, 123 of 193 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 63.7% of this state's fallen. That is 9.5 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ralph Lee Garcia's cause is highlighted.
How Ralph Lee Garcia Compares
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Ralph Lee Garcia is highlighted in Aug.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths.