HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A Hall County jury delivered guilty verdicts on Thursday facing charges in the 2019 shooting death of a sheriff's deputy at the end of a chase.
Hector Garcia-Solis, who was 17 at the time, was found guilty of murder and aggravated assault among his 15 charges. He was convicted on all of them.
In dramatic testimony on Wednesday, Garcia-Solis admitted to shooting Deputy Nicholas Blane Dixon on the night of July 7, 2019, saying on the stand: "It was me."
Two others who were involved, London Alexander Clements and Eric Edgardo Velazquez, were found guilty of murder as parties to the crime.
Velazquez faced 14 counts, and was convicted on all of them. Clements was convicted on two charges.
“Were you in the courtroom earlier when the video from Deputy Dixon’s body-cam was played?” defense attorney Matt Cavedon asked Garcia-Solis on the witness stand.
Garcia-Solis, visibly crying said "Yeah."
“Who was that on the back corner of the house?”
“It was me,” he replied.
“And who was it that shot that handgun?”
“It was me.”
“Are you admitting to this jury that you took Deputy Dixon’s life?”
“Yeah, like I said, you gotta confess to your sins. I hurt a family. I hurt friends. I hurt his brothers and sisters, something I never wanted to do and I never would do.”
Late in the evening of July 7, 2019, Dixon attempted to stop a stolen vehicle thought to be connected to the burglaries.
The car they were chasing crashed near the intersection of Jesse Jewell Parkway and Highland Avenue in Gainesville. Authorities said several suspects ran and deputies chased them.
The chase ended in a shootout, with Dixon being killed.
Days later, several teens were arrested in connection to the case, with Garcia-Solis, Clements and Velazquez eventually coming to trial.
The defense had tried to argue not all the teens deserve to be charged in this case.
Full verdict:
- Hector Garcia-Solis: Malice murder, felony murder predicated on aggravated assault on a peace officer, felony murder predicated on conspiracy, aggravated assault on a peace officer, conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary, burglary in the second degree (6), entering an automobile, criminal attempt to commit burglary, second degree, theft by receiving stolen property.
- Eric Edgardo Velazquez: Malice murder, felony murder predicated on aggravated assault on a peace officer, felony murder predicated on conspiracy, aggravated assault on a peace officer, conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary, theft by receiving stolen property, burglary in the second degree (6), entering an automobile, criminal attempt to commit burglary, second degree.
- London Alexander Clements: Felony murder predicated on conspiracy, conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary.