DLNews Crime:

A jury on Friday recommended Jose Vladimir Larin Garcia of Cathedral City be sentenced to death for four Palm Springs murders. The verdict came after the penalty phase of the trial that began last Monday morning.

Prosecutors have argued that Larin-Garcia murdered Yuliana Garcia, 17; Jacob Montgomery, 19; Juan Duarte Raya, 18; and Carlos Campos Rivera, 25, on February 3, 2019. They also say Larin-Garcia acted with intent to kill, acting with deliberation and premeditation.

The prosecution has alleged that Larin-Garcia killed the victims while sitting in a stopped car with Montgomery, Raya, and Garcia on the night of the shootings. They said he first fatally shot Rivera, who was leaning against the car. The driver then sped away, but prosecutors say Larin-Garcia -- who was in the back seat of the Toyota Corolla - then fatally shot the three inside the car to eliminate witnesses and jump from the moving vehicle before it crashed into a parked Jeep at Sunny Dunes and El Placer roads.

Witness testimonies gave jurors details of how the murders happened, including text message evidence and eyewitness testimony from the victims' relatives. They also heard from a forensic toxicologist and a fingerprint examiner. They also heard about the blood spatter and other evidence at the scene.

Deputy District Attorney Samantha Paixao questioned jurors about the defendant's history of violent crime, presenting slides of instances where he hit or resisted officers. She told them that he also put a gun to the head of a 14-year-old girl in 2016 and was involved in an armed robbery.

On the stand in the trial's penalty phase, a former partner of Larin-Garcia stepped forward to explain how Larin-Garcia treated him throughout their seven-month relationship. She said he abused her, raised his voice, and turned physically aggressive throughout the relationship.

Prosecutors in the trial phase called a witness who bought Larin-Garcia a bus ticket to Florida under a fake name. He was caught after shaving his head and beard to change his appearance, Grissom testified.

The victim's parents and a woman who worked at the bus station where Larin-Garcia was arrested were also on the stand. They told jurors how they were affected by the murders and pleaded for the defendant to be given a chance to pay for his crimes.

Defense lawyer John Dolan urged the jurors to look at the case again, calling it a "horror story" and asking them to reconsider the evidence in the guilty phase of the trial. He pointed to the forensic experts who found blood spatter on Larin-Garcia's clothing as not sufficient to prove murder and asked them also to consider the search for a gun that the prosecution claims he used in the crime.

Dolan also cited the failure of law enforcement to investigate the suspect's social media posts about the crimes. He argued that Larin-Garcia's alleged comments were not absolute statements from an actual person but simply a recording of rapper Young Boy singing "Candy Crush."

"Horrible verdict, the worst I've ever seen in 45 years of practice," Dolan said. "Jury came back in 30 minutes and never reviewed 1,000 exhibits and didn't have much discussion on four counts of murder."