MESQUITE, Texas — UPDATE [June 22, 2023] — Today, United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez sentenced 24-year-old Mesquite, Texas, resident Devonte Okeith Mathis to 10 years in prison in connection with his involvement in the fatal shooting of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Michael Garbo aboard an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona.
MESQUITE, Texas — UPDATE [June 22, 2023] — Today, United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez sentenced 24-year-old Mesquite, Texas, resident Devonte Okeith Mathis to 10 years in prison in connection with his involvement in the fatal shooting of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Michael Garbo aboard an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona.
Mathis had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
“Today we honor resilience,” stated United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “We commemorate the strength of a fallen hero’s family; the courage and recovery of a TPD officer and a DEA agent injured in the line of duty; the esprit de corps of our law enforcement partners at DEA and TPD; the dedication of the FBI in its investigation; and the renewed commitment by local, state, and federal law enforcement to uphold the rule of law and keep our communities safe. Most of all, we honor DEA Group Supervisor Michael G. Garbo for being an agent who made everyone around him better.”
“Every day, law enforcement officers face dangerous situations to keep our communities safe. Supervisory Special Agent Michael Garbo made the ultimate sacrifice to protect everyone on that train and prevent others from being harmed,” said Akil Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Phoenix Field Office. “Today is for Michael Garbo, and his loved ones and colleagues. We hope this sentence will bring a degree of comfort and closure knowing that Mr. Mathis has been held accountable for his criminal conduct.”
“Supervisory Special Agent Michael Garbo dedicated himself to DEA’s mission and gave his life in service to his country,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “Today, we remember him as a hero, mentor, and friend and, each and every day, we honor his legacy by continuing our fight to keep Americans safe. His daughter Alexis and wife Vida are in our thoughts, as well as our DEA Special Agent and Task Force Officer who were injured during the tragic events of October 4, 2021. We want to thank the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona for their dedicated work on this case and pursuit of justice.”
“That day is seared in our collective memory as an agency and as a law enforcement community,” said Tucson Chief of Police Chad Kasmar. “We will never forget our fallen colleague, DEA Group Supervisor Mike Garbo, and we are thankful that more lives were not lost that day - due to the heroic actions of many of our TPD members. Two others were seriously injured, a DEA agent and a TPD officer. I remain extremely proud of TPD's response and I hope that today's decision brings closure and peace to the family of GS Garbo, and to all who were affected by this event.”
ORIGINAL [March 21, 2023] — A Mesquite, Texas, man has pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a fatal shooting aboard an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona, in 2021 which resulted in the death of a DEA agents and injuries to another agent and task force officer.
According to federal prosecutors, 24-year-old Devonte Okeith Mathis, aka "Rooster," of Mesquite, Texas, and his co-conspirator, Darrion Taylor, were aboard an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona, when Taylor shot and killed Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Michael Garbo. Two others were injured in the shooting — a second DEA Special Agent and a DEA Task Force Officer, who was a member of the Tucson Police Department. Taylor was killed at the scene.
Mathis admitted, in pleading guilty in federal court last week, that he knew that his co-conspirator possessed two handguns, it was reasonably foreseeable that his co-conspirator would possess the firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking conspiracy, and he would carry and use the two handguns during and in relation to their drug trafficking conspiracy.
Mathis pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 24, 2023, before United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez. If convicted, Mathis faces up to five years on each count, a fine up to $250,000, or both, to run consecutive to all other counts.
“Yesterday was an important step in securing justice on behalf of a federal law enforcement agent,” United States Attorney Gary Restaino stated at the time of Mathis' pleading. “We await the sentencing in this matter. In the meantime, we celebrate Michael Garbo’s life of service, we mourn with his family and his colleagues at the Drug Enforcement Administration, and we remember his end of watch on October 4, 2021.”
In Kaufman County, Mathis was charged and convicted on misdemeanor marijuana charges out of the Forney Police Department in 2017.
In 2018, the Mesquite Police Department arrested and charged Mathis with manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance in penalty group 1. In 2019, Mathis was arrested and charged by the Dallas Police Department for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief, for which he received deferred adjudication. According to court records, Mathis had absconded in the Mesquite case "to avoid prosecution and/or punishment" and was wanted at the time of the Tucson shooting.
Mathis was also charged with evading arrest or detention in Mesquite in 2018. That case was dismissed in January 2021. A 2019 charge out of the Mesquite Police Department for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon was pled to six years probation.
Mathis was also charged in 2019 in Rockwall County for unlawful carrying of a weapon and possession of marijuana. Those cases show pending with bond forfeitures, according to Rockwall County records.
