A 19-year-old Scranton man — accused of running over his girlfriend with a car, killing her, in December — waived his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday.
Additionally, in an amended criminal complaint filed Tuesday, Joseph Garcia now faces charges of aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, tampering with physical evidence and involuntary manslaughter, court records show.
Garcia waived those charges, now transferred to the Court of Common Pleas, with his next court appearance set for April 10 at 9 a.m., county Deputy District Attorney Bo Loughney said.
In December, police charged Garcia with two counts of aggravated assault.
Garcia, previously held at Lackawanna County Prison without bail, was moved to house arrest, as of Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Chris Osborne said.
Officers responded to the rear of 1131 W. Locust St., Roundwoods Place, West Scranton, Dec. 29, for a report of a woman who wasn’t breathing, according to the criminal complaint. There police found Rose Hernandez, 18, in a puddle of blood and bleeding from the mouth.
Hernandez was rushed to Geisinger Community Medical Center’s Trauma Unit, where she was pronounced dead. Her injuries were consistent with having been hit by a motor vehicle, police said. An autopsy deemed the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head.
Garcia, who had blood on his face and hands, told officers the couple had been arguing before the incident, officers said.
Garcia told officers he had been inside his Chevrolet Camaro — registered in South Carolina — but didn’t want Hernandez to get in. When he attempted to drive away, she clung to the door of his car. And, then, when he attempted to stop, Hernandez hit another vehicle.
Officers noticed blood on the hood, driver’s side window and exterior door of Garcia’s Camaro. The bumper of the vehicle appeared damaged and folded inward.
Video surveillance footage showed a physical altercation between Garcia and Hernandez outside the vehicle. The footage also shows Hernandez attempting to grab the passenger side door as the Camaro is speeding away, causing her to fall to the ground.
Garcia told police he drove around the block after the incident, came back to the scene and found Hernandez lying on the street. He said he picked her up, put her in his car and then went inside the residence and lied to her family and said she fell out of his car and was hurt.
Investigators said they believe Garcia’s actions directly caused Hernandez’s death as he continued to drive away, despite knowing she was trying to enter the passenger side of his vehicle, causing her to fall and strike her head, police said.