Ex-Border Patrol agent gets 30 years for killing wife’s lover
Army veteran left suicide note before slaying
SAN ANTONIO — An ex-U.S. Border Patrol agent will serve at least 15 years in prison for killing his wife’s lover.
State District Judge Camile DuBose sentenced Adam S. Garibay on Thursday in Hondo to 30 years, the maximum allowed under an agreement with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to murder Nov. 9.
He must serve at least half the sentence before he is eligible for probation, his lawyer said.
Garibay, now 35, found out about the affair Jan. 20, 2014, and drove from his home in Corpus Christi to a residence north of Hondo that belonged to the parents of Keith J. Martin, who was romantically involved with Garibay’s wife, Denise.
Police have said Garibay shot 10 times outside of the house, hitting Martin from behind, then led officers on a chase that ended when his vehicle was forced off U.S. 90 in Sabinal. Authorities said he had assaulted and restrained his wife with handcuffs and duct tape in Corpus Christi and left behind a suicide note.
“It was too much for my mind and heart, and I broke inside. I am at a loss for living or reason,” said the document admitted last week as evidence by District Attorney Danny Kindred at a punishment hearing. The defense tried to establish a sudden passion defense, which would have reduced his sentence, because Garibay said he did not remember the shooting.
“He recalled he had taken Ambien, but we didn’t have proof,” Garibay’s attorney, Joe Gonzales, said Thursday. “He was taken to a hospital after his arrest and didn’t get tested for levels of Ambien in his system.”
After his arrest, Garibay, an Army veteran, was fired from the Border Patrol, where he had worked since 2007.