Germany — An Army master sergeant who repeatedly called German police officers Nazis after being arrested for drunken driving was sentenced Wednesday at a court-martial to 18 months in jail for several crimes
Miguel Garza pleaded guilty to drunk and disorderly conduct
driving while intoxicated and two counts of assault with battery during proceedings at Kleber Kaserne
The charges stemmed from two separate incidents in 2022
a food inspector who was assigned to Public Health Command Europe
which were thrown out as part of a last-minute plea deal
The deal ensured that he would be jailed for at least 18 months and up to two years
Garza also was ordered to forfeit all pay and allowances and had his rank reduced to E-4
Garza’s blood alcohol content was four times over the legal limit
After celebrating the new year with his family at home
When German police pulled him over for suspicious driving near the village of Enkenbach-Alsenborn
he refused to take a Breathalyzer test and was “exceptionally uncooperative and dismissive,” police officer Carsten Herm said
Herm described how he and a colleague had to forcefully remove Garza from his vehicle
handcuff him and take him to the police station
Garza admitted in court that while he was at the station
Herm said at another point that when Garza was asked where his driver’s license was
And when we was eventually allowed to leave the station
“He said to my colleague that his rank was so high up that nothing would happen to him,” Herm added
Garza lost his first sergeant job but retained his E-8 position
airmen outside a bar in downtown Kaiserslautern
Garza explained during sentencing how he violently shoved a male airman and inappropriately touched a female airman
He said he got violent when he offered them a ride home and they refused
“I had no right to touch anybody just because I was upset for not getting my way,” he said
The prosecution alleged that he got angry when the female airman would not allow him to touch her
and I was scared,” the female tech sergeant
saying he could hear derogatory remarks being yelled at his daughter by Garza over the phone when she called him during the incident
“I look at the Army uniform and I have an unrealistic prejudice now,” he said
Defense attorney Will Helixon called Garza “a good man who drunkenly made mistakes.” 
Garza’s mother testified by telephone from Texas
describing her son as a family man who helped raise his three younger siblings and continues to provide financial support to his extended family
Sara Nicholson said Garza had no respect for authority and thought of himself as above the law
“He believed his status in the military gave him a free pass,” Nicholson said
to hand down the maximum two-year sentence
“that soldiers cannot be promoted out of punishment.”
Garza said his actions have ruined his career and his family’s future stability
“I hope this does not define who I am as a father