There is a time for everything, and this is the time.
'Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes.
Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.'
This is a man who loved with his hands.. Heart and Soul.
You made easy what people had thought to see difficult. You made lovely what people had been used to see ugly . You made colorful what people had been forced to believe dark and monotonous
Known in the tattoo industry as Marky D, Mark Anthony Garcia presided over a successful business and was raising two kids when he was gunned down at the age of 27.
While many of his clients posted loving messages on social media, his relatives gathered to grieve.
“Family meant everything to him,” said Garcia’s mother, Kentrelle Gayles.
She lived with Garcia and his two children, a 9-year-old girl and 5-year-old son, whom Garcia was proud of.
“My granddaughter, she received the principal’s award twice,” Gayles said.
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Her son was fatally shot Saturday afternoon while riding in a car at a gas station near his north-side home. Police on Sunday evening were interviewing two suspects but hadn’t made any arrests, according to Lt. Dan Gomez.
Garcia’s fatal trip to the Valero station at 40th Street and Kendall Drive was a rare visit to a local business — his mother said he tended to shop outside of the area to avoid potential trouble and planned to move out of the neighborhood.
Garcia’s younger brother, Deshaun Taylor, 20, said Garcia absorbed the role of the oldest child, keeping Taylor and their three siblings in line.
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He spent much of his time at home, where, aside from hanging with his children, Garcia tattooed at an in-house studio and sometimes cut hair.
After graduating from Cajon High School, Garcia founded Ink Gang, an interstate conglomeration of tattoo artists, musicians and models.
“He started something big,” said Taylor, who sings and raps for the group.
Garcia had a knack for drawing since kindergarten and began tattooing about nine years ago, his mother said.
Another Ink Gang tattoo artist, who goes by Jeff Blaster, said Garcia’s talents with a needle were diverse.
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“Marky, you just show him what you wanted,” Blaster said by phone. “He was just all around amazing at what he did.”
Ink Gang expanded mostly by word of mouth, leading Garcia to clients around Southern California, as well as other states.
He traveled to Palm Springs, Las Vegas and even Idaho to tattoo, Blaster said.
Blaster, who met Garcia at Cajon High, said he hopes to keep the business thriving.
“With our president gone, we’re not sure where it’s going to go,” he said. “We want to keep his art alive, keep it going.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Dennis Houser at (909) 384-5626 or Sgt. Carl Williams at (909) 693-6665.