Thread: Gun buried in suspect's backyard?

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Gun buried in suspect's backyard?

Friend may have helped hide weapon in cop-killing

By Sarah Langbein, Rocky Mountain News
June 7, 2005

A key piece of evidence in the slaying of a Denver police detective might have been buried in the most likely place: the suspect's back yard.

Jaime Arana del Angel, 27, told police that suspected cop killer Raul Garcia-Gomez approached him about holding the smoking gun and ammunition in the hours following the death of Detective Donald Young, according to a sealed search warrant obtained by 9News on Monday.

The affidavit says that Arana del Angel, now in custody charged with accessory to murder, refused to hold onto the weapon but agreed to help Garcia-Gomez bury it in his back yard on South Vrain Street.

Police did dig up the back yard, but investigators would not say Monday whether a gun was found.

Arana del Angel is just one of at least four people linked to what police believe was a network of family and friends willing to help the fugitive remain on the run.

Arana del Angel was arrested May 30 in Denver. Three other suspects - Garcia-Gomez's father, sister and a man believed to be his uncle - were detained in California for alleged immigration violations. They are awaiting immigration proceedings.

"It's unfortunate that (Garcia-Gomez) would put his family in this situation," Denver police Detective Virginia Lopez said.

Lopez said she couldn't see "how anyone with a conscience" could help a suspected killer.

Arana del Angel was living with Garcia-Gomez at the time of the shooting. He was first contacted by detectives on May 9, one day after Young and Detective John Bishop were shot during a baptism party. Bishop was wounded but survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest. Young died at the hospital.

On Monday, Arana del Angel was charged with accessory to a crime. The Denver District Attorney's Office alleges, in court records, that Arana del Angel "rendered assistance" to Garcia-Gomez from May 8 to May 10.

Police had been investigating the possibility that Arana del Angel helped Garcia-Gomez drive to Los Angeles, where authorities found his abandoned car. It was unclear Monday whether they were able to link him to the trip.

He will appear in court Wednesday.

Authorities said Arana del Angel and Garcia-Gomez both have ties to a Southern California gang. They continued their friendship in Denver, where the two remained close, almost inseparable.

Arana del Angel referred his friend to Price Rite Motors, where Garcia-Gomez bought a white Dodge Neon - the car police sought immediately after the shooting.

He is listed as an associate and neighbor in Garcia-Gomez's paperwork at the dealership.

Sandra Rivas, who has a baby with Garcia-Gomez, said Arana del Angel is a family friend. Reached Monday, she said she hopes Young's widow will "forgive us."

"We didn't have anything to do with it," Rivas said, referring to her family. "I'm sorry."

Garcia-Gomez was apprehended Saturday night, after being on the run for nearly a month. Mexican authorities found Garcia-Gomez in Culiacan, Mexico, a town in the state of Sinaloa on the Pacific Coast near Mazatlan.

GOOD FAMILY FOLKS!