http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/l ... 06,00.html

Cops: His pals helped
But no additional charges are filed in slaying of officer

By Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News
July 8, 2005

A friend drove accused cop killer Raul Gomez-Garcia to a banquet hall - where two unsuspecting police officers were working - knowing he was armed and had threatened to attack them, according to testimony by a Denver police detective Thursday.

That same friend, Leopoldo Rivas, then waited in the car while the suspected gunman went inside, Detective Martin Vigil said. When Gomez-Garcia returned in "a panicked, nervous state," the two sped off together.

The new allegations, which emerged at a hearing for another man accused of helping the suspect, suggest that Gomez-Garcia had a wider circle of friends who assisted him - both before the shooting and as he tried to cover his trail - than was previously revealed.

But the information gathered by police has not resulted in any additional charges.

Denver District Attorney spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough acknowledged Thursday that her office has not filed a case against the alleged getaway driver.

"At this point in the investigation, we don't have a reasonable belief that we can prove a charge against him unanimously to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt," she said.

The detective's testimony may not have been enough for prosecutors weighing the evidence against Leopoldo Rivas but it persuaded a judge to order a trial for 27-year-old Jaime Arana del Angel, who is accused of helping the suspect bury ammunition and make his escape from Colorado.

It also provided the most complete picture yet of the police version of events surrounding the May 8 ambush-style killing of Detective Donald Young and the wounding of Detective John Bishop.

The two officers were working in uniform, but off-duty, at a baptism party at Salon Ocampo, a banquet hall on West Mississippi Avenue, when they were gunned down.

Police have said Gomez-Garcia, 20, shot the detectives after he was refused entry to the party.

As Young's widow and other relatives sat listening Thursday, Vigil testified that Gomez-Garcia was one of four men turned away.

Others in the group were Leopoldo Rivas, brother of Gomez- Garcia's girlfriend; Arana del Angel; and another man, Jose Rivas, whose relationship to Gomez-Garcia is unclear.

The suspected killer got into an angry confrontation with Young before the four friends left and drove to a billiards hall at South Sheridan Boulevard and West Mississippi Avenue, Vigil said.

Leopoldo Rivas told police that Gomez-Garcia confided in him and the others that he planned to return to the party and shoot the officer. Leopoldo Rivas also said he had seen Gomez-Garcia earlier that day with a silver handgun.

As the two drove from the scene after the shooting, Vigil said, Leopoldo Rivas asked Gomez-Garcia if he shot the officer and "he said he did."

Leopoldo Rivas pulled up behind an apartment building long enough for Gomez-Garcia to put something in the trunk, Vigil said. The pair then returned to the billiards hall.

According to the testimony, Leopoldo Rivas called Jose Rivas and Arana del Angel to tell them that Gomez-Garcia had shot the officer.

Investigators say Arana del Angel later told them that Gomez-Garcia asked him for help in hiding evidence at about 2 a.m., about an hour after the shooting.

Police say Arana del Angel has admitted that he dug a hole in the backyard of Gomez-Garcia's home on South Vrain Street and helped bury the murder weapon, a magazine and bullets.

When Arana del Angel was questioned by police, they said he showed investigators where the shallow hole was, but nothing was found there. Police said he told them the suspect must have taken the gun later and disposed of it.

Gomez-Garcia spent his last night in Denver sleeping next to his girlfriend, Sandra Rivas, and their infant daughter. Sandra Rivas later told police that her boyfriend confessed to her sometime that morning, saying, "Forgive me. It was me," Vigil said.

On the evening of May 9, Arana del Angel helped Gomez-Garcia as he made plans to flee to Los Angeles, Vigil said.

Police allege that Arana del Angel gave his friend gas money and bought him a road map at a 7-Eleven. Police say he said Gomez-Garcia didn't know how to get to Los Angeles and asked him to lead him there.

But Arana del Angel had to work Monday, so he led him west on Interstate 70 as far as Parachute, then turned back to Denver, Vigil said.

Defense attorney Frank Moya tried to show in cross-examination that Arana del Angel helped Gomez-Garcia because he was afraid of him and because he wanted to help the Rivas family who had taken him into their home.

After spending time with relatives in Los Angeles, Gomez-Garcia fled to Mexico. He was arrested June 4 in Culiacan after a four-week manhunt. He is being held in Mexico City pending extradition.

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