SAN ANTONIO – Michelle Barrientes Vela’s former captain was fired from the Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office Wednesday, weeks after he was indicted along with the former constable on felony and misdemeanor charges.
Marc Garcia was terminated following a 10-day administrative leave, a Precinct 2 spokesman said.
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Garcia had been placed on leave Jan. 24, a day after the former captain was indicted and taken into custody, the spokesman confirmed earlier this month.
WATCH: Ex-Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela faces judge after turning self in on felony charges
Garcia faces a felony charge of aggravated perjury and three misdemeanor charges of official oppression.
Prosecutors have accused Garcia, who served as a member of Barrientes Vela’s administration, of making up false statements while under oath in order to get a warrant to arrest Leonicio Moreno in April.
Moreno, who filed to run for Precinct 2 constable in the 2020 election, was later taken into custody on that warrant and charged with aggravated perjury.
Prosecutors dismissed the case against Moreno in hours, claiming they were not comfortable moving forward with it.
WATCH: Precinct 2 deputies delayed booking of constable’s political opponent
The indictment of Garcia also accuses him of subjecting Moreno, who was a fellow Precinct 2 deputy, to mistreatment in the workplace and directing others to harass, retaliate and discriminate against Moreno.
A Defenders investigation in June showed that Precinct 2 deputies delayed booking Moreno for nearly a half-hour, until members of the media were in place.
When questioned by the Rangers, the deputies involved in the booking of Moreno said they were instructed by supervisors to delay booking him.
Garcia declined to talk about the criminal case against him when released from custody Jan. 23.
Garcia had worked as a peace officer since 2008, according to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records.
He and Barrientes Vela are scheduled to make a court appearance Feb. 26.
The Precinct 2 spokesman confirmed that Jeremy Miner, the only other employee named in the Texas Rangers search warrant who remains with Precinct 2, is on full duty status assigned to the agency’s civil section.
