BOISE -- A Nampa man accused of stabbing one man to death and wounding another inside a downtown Boise nightclub had been arrested - and bonded out - just three weeks before the killing, prosecutors revealed Thursday.
Jesus Manuel Garcia, 24, is facing felony charges of second-degree murder and aggravated battery.
The stabbing happened Saturday at China Blue around 1:40 a.m. Prosecutors say Garcia was "acting aggressively," and seemed poised to get into a fight with two other men. Instead, according to the prosecution, he pulled out a pocket knife and plunged it repeatedly into both the victims.
The blade punctured the heart of 21-year-old Daviel Ruiz-Gomez Meridian. He died Tuesday at a Boise hospital after being removed from life support.
The other victim was stabbed in the chest and torso, but survived.
Prosecutors asked the judge to set bond a $2 million, pointing to the seriousness of the crime as well as Garcia's prior criminal history.
The lawyers noted Garcia had received a withheld judgment for aggravated assault in 2011 before violating his probation in the case the next year. He also was convicted of misdemeanors for battery, trespassing and carrying a concealed weapon in the years following.
Garcia had also been arrested in Canyon County for felony possession of a controlled substance Dec. 27, 2016, but was released on bond before his next court date. That case was pending against him when the suspect stabbed Ruiz-Gomez and the other man, prosecutors said.
According to the prosecution, Garcia admitted to officers that he had used meth before the stabbing, and had some of the drug in his pocket. The suspect is facing an additional charge for the methamphetamine in a separate Ada County case.
Garcia's defense attorney urged the judge to leave the bond set at $500,000, noting his client had never failed to show up for his court date and detailing his family ties to the community.
But Judge Kevin Swain wasn't convinced, ultimately setting Garcia's bond at the $2 million requested by prosecutors. Garcia is due back in court Feb. 2.
If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
