Law Enforcement Giant Passes Away

Les Garcia’s life portrays the best in devotion to God, family, and country and his life will be celebrated at

Photo Source: Les Garcia's Facebook page.

11 a.m. Monday morning in the parking lot of P. L. Fry and Son Mortuary in Manteca.

He was a giant of a man in the law enforcement field. He retired from the Sheriff’s Department in 2017 after leaving his Tracy post in 2000.

Les, 61, always went the extra mile in life for everyone he met and began his law enforcement career as the first K-9 officer at the Tracy Police Department retiring as a sergeant and then joined the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department as its public information officer always at the side of Sheriff Steve Moore in the department’s day-to-day activities with 37 years in law enforcement.

Steve was always there for me too as I worked as the police reporter for the Manteca Bulletin. Steve was there when I needed a guiding sense of right and wrong and the understanding of the core of a case he was dealing with at the time -- showing his passion for others.

The retired Sheriff Moore called me in the late afternoon October 19 shortly after Les had suddenly passed away literally choking me up with the caustic reality I had just lost a fantastic friend -- it didn't seem real as I had talked with Les only a few days earlier. He had lived in Manteca for over 50 years.

He and his wife Barbara were married for 43 years and considered each other best friends and serious soul mates in life. Les was known to go shopping with his daughter to buy shoes for the less fortunate kids in the county.

Les had three children and eight grandchildren, one brother and a sister surviving.

The family has asked that memorial gifts be sent to the Mary Graham Hall Foundation in Garcia’s name at P.O. Box 792, Stockton, CA 95201.

It would have been Les’ final wish for kids.