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Joined: Feb 13, 2008 Posts: 166 Location: On my NC Island or on my Harley
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:47 pm Post subject: UPDATE: Body identified as missing Wilmington man
More South of the Border crime in North Carolina
PENDER COUNTY -- The search for a missing Wilmington man is over. This weekend deputies in Pender County found the body of Martin Garza. Garza's body was found Saturday afternoon by a motorist driving along Highway 117 near Willard.
Autopsy results show Garza died after being shot in the head.
He was last seen January 21 at the Wal-Mart in Wallace, about 20 minutes from where his body was found.
Investigators believe he was killed shortly after he went missing.
Garza's truck was found in Johnston County January 22 with a blood-stained front seat and bullet casings.
At this point five law enforcement agencies are investigating Garza's murder, which makes gathering information a little more difficult.
Investigators do have two people of interest they say are connected to the case: Socrates Gomez and Wilmer Alvarado. It is believed that the two men were with Garza shortly before he disappeared.
Investigators say Garza's murder is not a random act, and the public is not at risk.
Detectives working the case are urging anyone with information on Gomez or Alvarado to call local authorities or dial 911.
I expect these two have head the same way as Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean the murderer of female Marine Maria Lauterbach in Jacksonville, NC. Check Mexico their safe haven
Joined: May 22, 2006 Posts: 28640 Location: Mexifornia
Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:58 am Post subject:
This article says the men the police want to talk to may have fled the country.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Missing Man Suspects Flee U.S.
Leslie Parnell
Reporter
Monday, February 04, 2008
Two men wanted for questioning in the disappearance of a Wilmington man whose bloodied truck was found at a car lot in McGee's Crossroads might not be around to be found, authorities said.
"We have received information potentially that they have fled the country," said Capt. Buck Pipkin of the Johnston County Sheriff's Office.
Socrates Toboada Gomez, 26, and Wilmer Alexis-Cruz Alvarado, 22, both of the Wilmington area, were believed to have been with Martin Garza, 42, of Wilmington the night he disappeared, authorities said.
Mr. Garza was last seen at Wal-Mart in Wallace two weeks ago today.
"(We are) still asking for anybody that knows their whereabouts to let us know. They are still persons of interest," said Tammy Amaon, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.
Bloody Truck Found
A black GMC Denali belonging to Mr. Garza, a construction business owner, was found Jan. 22 at Ron's Classic Cars in McGee's Crossroads.
The truck had a broken window and a bloodied interior, the sheriff's office reported.
Mr. Gomez and Mr. Alvarado might be the two men in a surveillance tape shown dropping off the vehicle at the car lot and leaving in another, authorities said.
Three days after the vehicle was found, authorities combed the wood line and shoulder along the east and westbound lanes of Interstate 40 in off-road vehicles from U.S. 117 to the McGee's Crossroads exit at N.C. 210 looking for any evidence, including Mr. Garza's body.
The investigation is based at the Duplin County Sheriff's Office and is a collaboration of several law enforcement offices. No body has been found yet, authorities said.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts or disappearance of Martin Garza or the disappearance of Mr. Gomez or Mr. Alvarado can contact the Johnston County Sheriff's Office 24 hours a day at (919) 989-5000 or the Duplin County Sheriff's Office at (910) 296-2150.
Joined: May 22, 2006 Posts: 28640 Location: Mexifornia
Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:35 am Post subject:
Two suspects charged in Martin Garza slaying
By David Reynolds,
Staff Writer
Published: Monday, April 28, 2008 at 11:42 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, April 28, 2008 at 11:42 p.m.
Two men investigators have been searching for since a Wilmington contractor was killed earlier this year are now charged with murder, according to a statement the Pender County Sheriff's Office released on Monday.
Socrates Gomez Taboada, 26, and Wilmer Alexis Cruz Alvarado, 23, are each charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and armed robbery in connection with the death of Martin Garza, 43, according to the statement.
Garza was last seen alive Jan. 21 at the Wal-Mart in Wallace and was found dead three weeks later off U.S. 117 in Pender County, near the Duplin County line. He'd been shot in the head, police have said.
Authorities have been searching for Taboada and Alvarado for months, saying first the men were wanted for questioning.
On Monday, lead Detective Scott A. Lawson, declined to say what led deputies to file charges, only that information they'd received earlier has been corroborated.
Police suspect the men have fled the country, and felony charges may help police get cooperation from foreign governments in the search.
The case and history
Police found Garza's 2006 GMC Sierra pickup truck in Johnston County, the day after his disappearance. Garza, who lived in Wilmington, was born in McAllen, Texas, and is a former U.S. Marine, a father and the youngest of four siblings.
Authorities in numerous jurisdictions have investigated his disappearance and death, but Pender County deputies took the lead after his body was found in their jurisdiction.
On Monday, Lawson said police suspect Garza was killed in Pender County and if that holds true, the suspects would face trial there.
Investigators believe Alvarado and Taboada (formerly referred to as Gomez) fled to Mexico after the killing and are now in their home countries. Taboada is from Mexico and Alvarado is from Honduras, according to the statement from the sheriff's office.
Police suspect the men were illegal immigrants at the time of Garza's disappearance. Both men have had run-ins with local law enforcement.
Taboada was incarcerated four times in 2007, three times following arrests on allegations of failing to appear in court and once after being charged with driving on a revoked license, according to 1st Sgt. T.L. Fuss of the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office. Taboada also was incarcerated in 2006 on a shoplifting allegation and in 2005 on another charge of failing to appear in court, Fuss said.
Alvarado was incarcerated in the New Hanover County jail in 2007 on allegations of possessing drugs with the intent to distribute and maintaining a home or vehicle for drug activity, Fuss said.
The disposition of the men's prior cases wasn't available Monday night.
Improvements sought
Contacted late Monday afternoon, Chief Deputy Ed McMahon of the New Hanover sheriff's office said he didn't know the specifics of the suspects' prior cases or immigration statuses.
But he said the office is working with federal authorities to better identify and detain illegal immigrants who have been arrested for other crimes. Immigration violations are the purview of the federal government, so the office can't do it alone, he said.
Pender County Sheriff Carson Smith said his office asked last year to have deputies trained to act as federal immigration officials. But with so many law enforcement agencies in North Carolina requesting the training, called 287 g, federal authorities don't have the resources to train everyone, Smith said.
As a compromise, Smith said, Pender County may have a system in place by next year to check a federal immigration database, which uses fingerprints to determine whether an immigrant is wanted for violations.
Until then, Smith said, deputies must identify suspects using the documentation they provide.
"If we're getting information that's not correct it would be tough for us to identify them," Smith said.
Authorities ask anyone with information on the two suspects to call the Pender County Sheriff's Office at (910) 259-1348. If anyone sees the suspects they should call 911, police said.
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