Nevada teen sentenced for attack on Las Vegas high school teacher

A Las Vegas teenager was sentenced to between 16 and 40 years in prison in connection with an attack on a high school teacher after classes ended for the day that left her with several injuries. 

Jonathan Martinez Garcia, now 17, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and in April to attempted sexual assault and battery with use of a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm in a plea deal that avoided trial in the after-school attack at Eldorado High School.

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Garcia apologized in court Wednesday. His lawyer told a judge that his client’s behavior was caused by severe side effects of an asthma medication he took that caused mood changes, night terrors and hallucinations, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. 

“I regret what I’ve done,” Garcia said. “I also regret the things I should have done, but didn’t do.”

His attorney asked for probation. 

In April 2022, Garcia attacked the teacher in a classroom and choked her with a “rope or string” and then slammed her head against the table and knocked her unconscious. He allegedly said he “didn’t like teachers” when she asked why he was attacking her. 

She eventually went unconscious during the attack before she was found by another school employee. Garcia fled the school but was arrested hours later. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.