Suspect in Miami-Dade missing-body murder case gets 30 years in prison on weapons charges

John Paul Garcia, the Miami man accused of murdering a woman whose body has yet to be found, will serve 30 years in prison on unrelated weapons charges.

A Miami-Dade judge on Friday sentenced Garcia, 47, after he pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Garcia is accused of murdering his mistress, Larissa Macriello, 46, who vanished without a trace from her North Miami-Dade home in June 2013. Her body is still missing.

Prosecutors believe cellphone records show that he possessed Macriello’s phone after she vanished, and that he siphoned more than $40,000 from her bank account while also driving her car. He has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.

Miami-Dade detectives found the pistols — one in his bedroom, another in a storage room — while searching his house for evidence after his arrest in the murder.

Garcia, who worked as an assistant for a local bail bondsman, was not allowed to carry weapons because of a six-year prison stint for drug trafficking. At the time of Marciello’s disappearance, Garcia was also on probation for hitting his daughter during an argument.

He pleaded guilty — with no plea deal — to the weapons charges after Circuit Judge Stephen Millan denied his request to dismiss key evidence; Garcia claimed detectives wrongfully searched his home when they found the guns.

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Suspect in Miami-Dade missing-body murder case gets 30 years in prison on weapons charges."