Arvada Home-Invasion Armed Robber Gets 24 Years

GOLDEN, CO – A man convicted of bursting into the Arvada home of a 70-year-old man while carpets were being cleaned, then robbing the owner and carpet cleaner at gunpoint, was sentenced to prison in Jefferson County District Court.

Ivan A. Garcia, 36, pleaded guilty Oct. 4 to kidnapping and aggravated robbery charges with a violent crime sentencing enhancement. He had been convicted of five prior felonies, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office said Friday. On Nov. 14, Garcia was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

On August 16, 2017, Garcia approached an employee of a carpet cleaning company working at an Arvada home in the 9100 block of West 50th Lane. Displaying a handgun, Garcia forced the employee inside the house, where he ordered the employee and the homeowner to the ground, demanding their wallets and cell phones, prosecutors said.

The carpet cleaner resisted, and there was a struggle, during which Garcia pistol-whipped him and held him in a headlock, the DA's office said.

"This move proved valuable to investigators in that it provided Arvada police with DNA which helped identify Mr. Garcia," the JeffCo DA's office said in a statement.

Garcia was also identified with the help of a doorbell video camera, investigators said.

The Arvada police and the Jefferson County Elder Abuse Unit worked together to solve the case, said JeffCo District Attorney Pete Weir in a press release. He praised a lead detective on the Arvada force.

“Arvada police did an outstanding job in this case. The lead detective, Aaron Buemi, never let up; he was determined to bring justice for [the victims],” Weir said.

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