‘Legendary' DEA agent killed in Arizona Amtrak shooting over marijuana, complaint says


A Federal Bureau of Investigation evidence response team works at the scene of a shooting aboard Amtrak train in downtown Tucson, Ariz., on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021.

A "legendary" Drug Enforcement Administration agent with a 16-year career in law enforcement has been identified as the officer shot and killed by an Amtrak passenger, who was concealing a massive amount of marijuana at the time.

Michael Garbo, who typically went by Mike, was part of a regional task force of DEA agents and Tucson police officers tasked on Monday with inspecting luggage at an Amtrak station in Arizona. Their presence was triggered by tips from train authorities regarding a list of individuals that were traveling from California to Texas.

The Sunset Limited, Train 2, was carrying 137 passengers and 11 crew members traveling from Los Angeles to New Orleans, and arrived at the downtown Tucson station at 7:40 am, said Jason Abrams, an Amtrak spokesman. The shooting unfolded about 20 minutes later.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Arizona District court on Tuesday, an officer spotted a man, who has since been identified as Devonte Mathis, abandon several backpacks in a row of unoccupied seats. When questioned about it, Mathis denied that they belonged to him, prompting the officer to take them out to the platform for additional investigation.

A quick search of the bags turned up two bulk packages of marijuana. According to a search warrant, they contained 2.39 kilograms, or over 5 pounds, of raw marijuana, 50 packages of Gooberz edibles and other marijuana and cannabis products.

Officers were in the process detaining Mathis on the upper level of the double-decker train car when a second man pulled out a handgun and unleashed a barrage of bullets. Police returned firing, prompting the suspect to barricade himself in the bathroom, where he was later found dead, police chief Chris Magnus told the Arizona Republic.

Garbo was fatally struck amid the exchange and was also pronounced dead on the scene. He joined the DEA in 2005 and possessed expertise and a manner that "were legendary," DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a statement. As a special agent and supervisor, he pursued criminal drug traffickers at the U.S.-Mexico border and in Afghanistan.

Garbo was beloved by his colleagues for "his leadership and for his unrelenting passion to protect the safety of the American people," Milgram added. "Above all else, he was a devoted and loving father and husband."

A second agent and a Tucson officer, who have not been identified, were also shot several times. They remained in stable condition Wednesday, the DEA said.

Mathis was arrested and faces federal charges of knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana, according to the complaint. His relationship to the gunman is unclear.

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