Matthew Darr is the Duke Energy line technician employee that was shot in the face during a robbery in Charlotte, NC. Now the suspect Sammy Garcia, 26, has pled guilty. The guilty verdict was issued on October 11, 2024.
The shooting was on June 18, 2021 when Matthew was working on an electrical power line in Charlotte near The Plaza Road. Follow Charlotte Alerts on Instagram.
Sammy and another suspect approached Matthew as he was walking back to his utility truck. The suspects pointed a gun at Matthew and demanded his personal property.
Matthew gave the suspects his IPhone 11 and chewing tobacco. When Sammy realized that the victim did not have anything else to give, Sammy shot the victim in the face.
The suspects fled. 911 was called and Matthew was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Matthew survived the ordeal, but is permanently disabled.
Through an extensive investigation, Sammy and the other suspect were arrested in 2021.
At his 2024 trial Sammy pled guilty to assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and robbery with a dangerous weapon.
He was sentenced to 120-168 months in prison. The co-defendant previously pled guilty to charges arising from this incident.
Duke Energy issued the following statement regarding the shooting:
“Our employees are our family and nothing is more important than their safety. This event is a reminder of the many hazards we often face to keep the lights on for our customers and communities. Our thoughts and prayers are with our teammate, and we are committed to helping him and his family as he recovers.
