Human smugglers killed, police say



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06:43 PM PDT on Tuesday, March 16, 2010

By JOHN ASBURY



Two men shot and killed in a Moreno Valley human smuggling ring last week were smugglers arguing over money and the fate of the immigrants being held captive, a homicide sergeant said Tuesday.

Carmelo Garcia-Palacio, 20, and Miguel Martinez-Altanerano, 30, were both killed Thursday in a shootout at a home on Edgemont Street and Bay Avenue, Riverside County sheriff's Central Homicide Sgt. Dean Spivacke said.

Authorities do not know if the two men shot each other or if they were killed by other smugglers shooting at someone else.

Homicide detectives said the two men were harboring up to 10 undocumented immigrants at the home that had been brought across the border in exchange for payments from their families. The two men killed were part of an argument about payment for the immigrants and dividing the profits, Spivacke said.

It appears the two men were shot accidentally as their own guns were fired, killing one man at the scene and critically injuring the other, who died at the hospital. An immigrant brought from Mexico that morning was also shot in the home, but was able to escape to a Sprint cell phone store nearly two miles away.

"Ultimately, it all comes down to money," Spivacke said. "We don't know how they divided the money up, but they were holding them for ransom essentially. They were trying for whatever they think they could get from the victims' families."

Police learned details of the shooting from the man who fled the home and another man who was found bound with minor injuries in a back room. Both men are staying with family in the Inland area, awaiting further questioning by police.

Authorities are now searching for the other conspirators of the smuggling operation. Detectives are trying to locate at least five other immigrants who fled the house after the shooting for questioning, even anonymously or at neutral locations.

"In the bigger picture, we're concerned about the death," Spivacke said. "Clearly there was a false imprisonment issue and everyone kept in the house are being treated like victims."

Homicide detectives are asking anyone with information to call 951-955-2777.

Reach John Asbury at jasbury@PE.com


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