Former sheriff's deputy accused of trashing a house

A former sheriff's deputy in Dixie and Levy counties turned himself in Tuesday evening on a charge that he trashed someone's home before flooding it with a hose.

Mark Antonio Garcia, 38, was charged with felony criminal mischief for the Oct. 17 incident in rural Dixie County. He was released on his own recognizance after being booked into the Dixie County Jail where he once worked.

Garcia worked for the Dixie County Sheriff's Office three times for a total of about 9-1/2 years. Some of his time with the agency was as a correctional officer at the county jail and some of the time was as a law enforcement deputy. Employment records for the two counties show Garcia resigned from Dixie County about a year ago to accept a job with the Levy County Sheriff's Office. Garcia had worked as an investigator in the Levy County criminal investigations unit until his resignation on Friday.

According to court records, Garcia had been drinking Oct. 17 before he asked James "Buddy" Smith to drive him to his home in Levy County. While en route, Garcia reportedly asked Smith to stop at all the bars along the way to find a former girlfriend whom he believed had his keys and wallet. Garcia also asked Smith to stop at Curtis Ray Snellgrove's home, according to authorities. Investigators said Garcia and Snellgrove had both dated the same woman at different times.

Deputy Leslie Brannin said Smith told him that he parked outside a locked gate at Snellgrove's home but had parked with his headlights pointed toward the residence. According to Brannin, Smith said he waited in the truck listening to music while Garcia took Smith's flashlight and appeared to move around the property with it. According to authorities, when Garcia returned to the truck, he was reportedly laughing when he told Smith that he tore up the washer and dryer and turned on the hose, letting water run into the home.

Brannin said that when the residents returned to the home, the damage they found, in addition to water damage from the washing machine hose, included a water line broken at the pump, the satellite dish moved, the security system tampered with, a large rock thrown through double-pane windows in the living room and the bottom of the back door damaged.