A man was sentenced to 40 years in prison for a 2019 murder over money owed due to a rooster fight, according to a news release from the Cameron County District Attorney's Office.

On Oct. 7, Adrian Garcia pleaded guilty to the murder of 59-year-old Ezequiel Garza. On Wednesday, Garcia appeared before Judge Juan Magallanes, who sentenced Garcia to 40 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

On Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019, the Cameron County Sheriff's Department received a call in reference to a homicide in Harlingen.

Deputies found Garza's body sitting inside a blue color Jeep that was parked on a driveway in "puddles of blood with multiple gunshot wounds to the body," the news release stated.

After an investigation, it was determined that Garcia intentionally killed Garza as a result of an argument over money that was bet on rooster fights.

“It was a particularly egregious violent act in that the evidence showed that the victim was attempting to leave the scene when he was shot," Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said.