http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2006/ ... obaton.txt

Fugitive Due in Court Monday on Manslaughter Charge
Man charged in 2004 death of bicyclist
This article was published on Friday, December 15, 2006 6:25 PM CST in News
By Robin Mero

BENTONVILLE -- Felony charges of manslaughter and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident were filed this week against a Rogers man accused in the 2004 death of a bicyclist outside Siloam Springs.

Lazaro Andrade Lobaton, 25, is to be arraigned Monday before Benton County Circuit Judge David Clinger.

Lobaton was considered one of Benton County's most wanted fugitives when he disappeared after Brandon Haley, 31, a father of three, was struck while riding on Arkansas 68.

Police say Lobaton was driving a Dodge pickup that struck Haley, who suffered massive head injuries and died immediately. His children were ages 2, 5 and 7 at the time.

Lobaton fled the scene, police believe. Authorities said he may have returned to Mexico for six months and then re-entered the United States. He was arrested in November in Decatur, Ala., by U.S. Marshals Service and Immigration and Custom Enforcement after a raid on a home.

Officials believe Lobaton had been working in Alabama for some time with a construction crew that traveled from one job to the next. He is now held in the Benton County Jail on a $300,000 bond.

In October 2005, the man who bought the Dodge pickup for Lobaton was convicted of filing a false police report and two counts of insurance fraud stemming from the incident.

Ramon Sanchez, 54, of Rogers, was found not guilty, however, of hindering the apprehension of Lobaton. He was sentenced to five years in prison and has since been deported to Mexico.

Brandon Haley's widow, Angie Haley-Goucher, attended that trial in Clinger's court.

According to testimony, Sanchez had purchased the truck and an insurance policy for Lobaton, who was an illegal immigrant. Sanchez lied to his insurance agent about who would be driving the truck.

Lobaton paid for and drove the truck exclusively.

Haley-Goucher had said her late husband was passionate about cycling. She often worried for his safety, but that road was considered one of the safest routes.

That July morning, Haley and friend Roger Holroyd set out about 6 a.m. on a regular Sunday morning bike trip on Arkansas 68, commonly called "Old Highway 68" after being replaced by U.S. 412.

They were warming up, riding side by side, when Holroyd heard a truck approach and pedaled faster so his friend could drop into place behind him, Holroyd testified in the trial against Sanchez.

"Car back," he called to Haley, but it was too late.

"I heard the impact, and he and the bike were thrown past me some distance down the highway I got a good look at a dark, late model pickup, going fast the truck never slowed," Holroyd said.

According to testimony, Lobaton later told Sanchez he had been intoxicated.