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Man sentenced to life in prison for 2020 deadly stabbings at Carmichael mental health center

The February 2020 stabbings left two people dead and two injured. The attack was stopped by a homeless man who chased down the suspect and held him for deputies.

CARMICHAEL, Calif. — Martin Lackey-Garcia, the man convicted of stabbing a total of four people and killing two at a Carmichael mental health center, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole.

According to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, a jury convicted Lackey-Garcia of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder back in July.

The case stems from a series of stabbings that happened at the Wellness and Recovery Center in Carmichael on February 28, 2020.

Lackey-Garcia met with counselor Eileen Stanwick, got angry and stabbed her multiple times, killing her. Receptionist Tracy Drake was stabbed trying to save Stanwick and suffered fractured ribs and a collapsed lung but survived.

Lackey-Garcia then went to the courtyard and chased employees. Charles McLellan fell while trying to get away and was stabbed in the back but survived.

As employees ran away from the building, Lackey-Garcia went back into the office and stabbed Paul McIntyre to death.

Home security camera footage caught a heroic homeless man – Stephen Todd Ward aka ‘Cowboy' – as he followed, tackled and held down Lackey-Garcia until law enforcement arrived.

WATCH MORE ON ABC10: Two dead, two hospitalized following Carmichael stabbing, sheriff confirms

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