Palm tree shooting spawns civil suit

EDINBURG -- The family of a man fatally shot outside of a palm tree nursery last month is seeking civil damages from the man accused of killing him.

Graham Garfield, 25, of Donna, "proclaimed himself to be the enforcer of the law" and "anointed himself judge, jury and executioner" when he fired two shotgun blasts at 21-year-old Alejandro Estrada, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed last week by Estrada's surviving heirs.

Garfield is criminally charged with shooting at Estrada and his companions Jan. 27. According to the Hidalgo County sheriff, he said he believed they were trying to steal palm trees from his family business - Southern Nurseries - near the intersection of Canton and Val Verde roads.

"I don't care if there were palm tree leaves flying out of the back of their truck," said Robert Ammons, the Estrada family attorney. "I think in our society we should place human life over the value of a $20 palm tree."

Garfield's family has declined req uests for comment since his arrest on murder charges, citing the ongoing case. His attorney - Ricardo Salinas - did not return phone calls Monday.

While investigators believe Estrada and two others were casing the property for a possible theft, Sheriff Lupe Treviño has since said Garfield had no way of knowing their intentions and broke the law when he fired at them from the public roadway.

The men had not taken anything prior to the shooting and had no tools with them that would have given Garfield reason to believe they were capable of taking a tree, the sheriff said.

Thieves had struck the property at least three times in the past three years, including once in the week before the attack, according to crime reports.

Estrada sustained critical wounds to his forearms, face and forehead and was taken off life support three days later. His accomplices - Carlos Zamarron, 20, and Agustin Casanova, 18 - escaped with minor injuries.

But since Estrada's death, his mother and common-law wife, Claudia Torres, have struggled to come to terms with both the financial and emotional costs, said their attorney Ammons.

Torres gave birth to Estrada's son 18 days before his death and relied on him for income to support the child.

"It's horrible for them," Ammons said. "They're devastated."

Garfield was released from jail last week on a $100,000 bond. His criminal case is currently pending grand jury review.

The civil case - in which Garfield's mother, Kathy, and Southern Nurseries are named as co-defendants - is unlikely to proceed until after the criminal case has been resolved.

Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.