A Wilmer City Council member charged with terroristic threat is speaking publicly about his arrest, saying the interaction that led to the charge was misunderstood and taken out of context.
Moses Garcia was arrested by Wilmer police two days before speaking with NBC 5 alongside his attorney, Joshua Carpenter. Garcia and Carpenter said the alleged victim, a Shell gas station employee, has been Garcia’s friend for 42 years and that surveillance video of the encounter does not reflect the context of their relationship.
“He’s a good friend of mine, and, uh, our normal conversations when we see each other, if there’s no profanity, there’s something wrong with me and Ricky,” Garcia said.
According to detectives, Garcia referred to the employee using what sounded like a racial slur. Investigators also said surveillance video showed Garcia removing his hat and pulling at his shirt as though he was preparing for a physical confrontation.
Carpenter declined to comment on allegations that Garcia was intoxicated during the incident. He said someone other than the Shell employee contacted Wilmer police to report the interaction.
“We believe that this was almost a retaliatory action that happened. I don’t believe most people that look at this video would say, ‘Oh, yeah, he’s committing terroristic threats,'” Carpenter said.
Garcia’s arrest comes just months after he was elected to the Wilmer City Council in May. He campaigned on a promise to expose what he alleged was corruption within city government and called for a third-party investigation.
Garcia has posted videos on Facebook detailing what he described as unauthorized releases of city funds and other concerns about city government. In recent months, the city’s human resources director, city secretary, finance director, city administrator, police chief and mayor have either left their positions, submitted resignations or were asked by the City Council to step down.
“This is a small part of a much bigger picture, and the much bigger picture, it’s really the goings on of Wilmer,” Carpenter said.
As a condition of his release, Garcia is prohibited from going to City Hall and from having contact with the Shell gas station employee.
Despite those restrictions, Garcia said he remains committed to the promises he made during his campaign.
“I’ve been very transparent, and I’ve told everybody, I am not a politician. I’m a businessman, and my job was just to make sure that I make the city and the funds be visible to the people,” Garcia said.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.
