Man convicted of second-degree murder in 2014 Monterey Park stabbing

A man was convicted of second-degree murder March 18 for fatally stabbing another man in Monterey Park in 2014, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. 

The jury deliberated for a day before finding Angel Octavion Garcia, 20, guilty in the killing of Edward Gabriel Mendoza, 35. Jurors also found true a special allegation that the defendant used a knife. 

Prosecutors said that on Oct. 14, 2014, Garcia stabbed Mendoza in a parking lot of a business complex. Mendoza called 911 and said he had been assaulted before succumbing to his injuries while on the phone. He was pronounced dead at 10:11 p.m., according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records. 

Soon after the incident, a person told police that Garcia had confessed to stabbing a man, prosecutors added. 

Eight days after the killing, police arrested Garcia in connection with the killing, according to prosecutors. 

At trial, prosecutors argued that Garcia stabbed Mendoza after being humiliated over a failed drug deal with a different person earlier in the night. Garcia took his anger out on Mendoza, prosecutors said. 

Garcia is scheduled to return to court Friday. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @jeromercampbell and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.