Affidavit: Father in hospital after defending daughter from her boyfriend

Posted: Mar 26, 2019 / 01:55 AM CDT

Updated: Mar 26, 2019 / 10:23 PM CDT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin father is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries after court documents suggest he tried to defend his daughter from her boyfriend.

According to an arrest warrant, Jaime Apodaca, 24, assaulted the father of his girlfriend of about one month. Eric Garcia, the victim, reportedly defended his adult daughter, after Apodaca was allegedly yelling at her, calling her derogatory names and accusing her of cheating on him.

Eric Garcia reportedly confronted the man in a bedroom of the Garcia home, where Apodaca had been staying. Apodaca is said to have punched Eric first and then the daughter, as she tried to pull her boyfriend away from him.

Apodaca’s punch knocked one of the woman’s teeth out and onto the hallway stairs, where the fight continued. At this point, Eric had been knocked to the ground several times and Apodaca was reportedly repeatedly beating the man as his daughter screamed for him to stop.

At the bottom of the stairs, the woman was pushed into a shoe rack so hard that it broke.

The fight continued outside the house — where Apodaca allegedly punched Eric to the ground. The father hit his head so hard on the concrete that blood leaked out onto the sidewalk.

Garcia’s injuries are listed as a skull fracture, an inter-cranial trauma and a herniated brain.

Family members and a close friend of Garcia told KXAN News on Monday that Garcia was in a coma and he may not come out of it.

“He tried to split up a fight. He was such a quiet, nice, humble person, you know. He didn’t really deserve what happened to him,“ Rock Schouman, Garcia’s friend said.

“It’s not looking good right now. Current diagnosis — there’s not really a lot of brain function happening. He was dead for 15 minutes before the paramedics could actually bring him back.“

Worried about Garcia’s family and what may be in store for them, Schouman wants to do everything he can to help. So he launched this fundraiser on Facebook.

“I’m just really worried about his family because it’s not easy, especially if you have younger children. He has a 12-year-old daughter, so I just want to make sure that they’re taken care of because they can’t really fend for themselves right now,“ Schouman said. “Make sure the rent’s paid. Make sure there’s food. I don’t want his kids to lose their home. I don’t know what the future’s going to hold for them. I want to keep the lights on, keep the roof over their head for a while until they can figure out what they need to do.“

Schouman also set up a GoFundMe fundraiser for the family. If you’re interested in donating, visit the page directly: https://www.gofundme.com/eric-garcia-and-his-family-need-our-help

According to Travis County Jail records, Apodaca is charged with: