Garcia convicted of 1995 murder

Mike Swanson

More than eight years after a Laguna Beach Baskin Robbins owner was

shot and killed during a failed burglary, a jury convicted a man on

Wednesday for her murder and the attempted murder of her husband.

A jury of nine women and three men found 32-year-old Gilbert

Garcia guilty of the crimes, and will decide next week whether he

will face the death penalty.

“This has been a black cloud over the department since February

1995,” Laguna Beach police Capt. Danell Adams said. “We’re very happy

for the family members and for the community members who’ve sought

closure on this for so long.”

Simindokht Roshdieh, 53, died on Feb. 20, 1995, when a burglar

shot her in the throat as she removed cash from the register. Her

husband, Firooz, suffered serious injuries but survived after being

shot while trying to defend his wife with a broom.

Despite the defense’s claim that the murderer could have been

another man, Manuel Rodriguez, the jury decided it had enough

evidence to convict Garcia.

“The choice is life in prison without possible parole or the death

penalty,” said Kevin Haskins, a deputy district attorney and lead

prosecutor in the case. “We’re very gratified with the guilty

verdict. We’re looking forward to presenting the evidence during the

penalty phase.”

Adams said the police department interviewed Garcia and Rodriguez

extensively, and used more crime scene investigation resources than

ever before to ensure they were getting the right man.

“Both suspects were in jail already, so we had time on our sides,”

Adams said. “We waited until we were absolutely certain we had the

right guy before it went to trial.”

Rodriguez was arrested shortly after the shooting and was

positively identified as the killer by Firooz Roshdieh and other

witnesses. A reenactment of the murder, however, revealed that

Rodriguez couldn’t have been the killer, and the charges against him

were dropped.

“They looked a lot alike, even down to the tattoos,” Adams said.

Haskins said he wouldn’t comment on the strength of the evidence

against Garcia until the penalty phase was complete.

Laguna Beach police interviewed Garcia at two maximum security

facilities before issuing a warrant for his arrest in December 2001.

He was brought to Laguna Beach from Pelican Bay State Prison in

Crescent City, where he was serving 25 years to life for a carjacking

in Torrance.

“He was a tough person,” Adams said. “There’s no real polite way

to say what he was, really. He’s where he should be now, and that’s

where he’ll remain.”

Firooz Roshdieh never returned to the ice cream shop after the

murder, Adams said, and the family sold the business a couple of

years later. Adams said she hasn’t heard from anyone in the family

recently.

“The family’s chosen to keep a very low profile and have remained

private throughout the case,” Adams said. “Any time they’ve asked us

for updates, or requested any information, we’ve accommodated them,

but they’ve been very private, which I can certainly understand.”

Jurors for the case were told before it started that it had the

potential of becoming a death-penalty case, Adams said, which

eliminates a lot of potential jurors. The jury will return to court

on Monday to decide whether Garcia receives life in prison or the

death penalty.

* Coastline Pilot reporter Suzie Harrison contributed to this

story.