KENT COUNTY, Mich. — The Wyoming man accused of killing a Plainfield Township woman back in August 2022 pleaded no contest.
Yenly Garcia was charged with homicide, open murder and possession of a firearm in connection to the woman's death in September 2022.
He was offered a plea deal in March that carried a minimum sentence of at least 28 years for the homicide charge and two years for the gun charge in exchange for a no-contest plea to second-degree murder.
He pleaded no contest to the murder and firearms charge, and is now facing a minimum of 25 years in prison.
Garcia is accused of shooting and killing 33-year-old Mollie Schmidt in August 2022. Schmidt was last seen at her Plainfield Township home on Aug. 21. Her friends noted this was unlike her, as Schmidt was a mother of five.
Police believed Schmidt to be with Garcia. After obtaining a search warrant, police found Schmidt's body on the floor of Garcia's bedroom in his Wyoming apartment on Aug. 30. She had died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Law enforcement said they also found a shotgun and an AR-15 rifle in a nightstand near Schmidt's body. Garcia has a previous felony conviction and is not allowed to possess firearms, prosecutors claim.
According to court documents filed against Garcia at his preliminary hearing back in January, detectives also accused him of trying to use Schmidt's credit cards after she went missing.
Garcia, a citizen of Cuba, fled to Mexico and was extradited in September and booked at the Kent County Jail.
Garcia's brother, Yovany Tellez, testified nearly three months ago that Schmidt and Garcia began dating in November 2021, and Garcia told him he was "falling for her."
The couple apparently had a falling out around Valentine's Day, and Tellez thought they had both moved on from the relationship.
In July 2008, Garcia was arrested for kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon. Court records reveal disturbing details, describing how a female victim was dragged into an abandoned basement and handcuffed. Duct tape was placed over her eyes and mouth.
Garcia was ultimately sentenced to a minimum of eight years in prison and was paroled in 2016.
Garcia is expected to be sentenced on Sept. 28 at 9 a.m.
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