Hundreds of people gathered Saturday evening at a Marigny microbrewery to second line for Michael Garcia, a beloved father and Marine veteran killed in crossfire during a gun battle Tuesday in St. Claude.
Featuring a 12-piece brass band, bubble machines and floats from a cross-section of Mardi Gras krewes, the parade was as colorful and larger-than-life as Garcia himself, loved ones said.
“This individual touched the lives of thousands of people in New Orleans,” said Stephen Tont, a tom player in a hastily assembled band nicknamed the “Dirty Michael Dozen.” It wound through the Marigny to the Mississippi River and sent Garcia off with a rendition of “You Are My Sunshine.”…