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  1. #1
    Senior Member Skip's Avatar
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    ROAD RAGE SHOOTING : NOT! : SMUGGLING DISPUTE : YES!

    Smuggling dispute set off chase

    BOY KILLED: One of the drivers tells deputies the delivery of two illegal immigrants went awry.

    10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, December 19, 2006

    By JOHN F. BERRY
    The Press-Enterprise

    The car-to-car shooting along Interstate 15 that killed a 12-year-old Hesperia boy last week began as a dispute between two men engaged in smuggling illegal immigrants from Mexico, the driver of one of the cars told investigators.



    The account, contained in reports filed in San Bernardino County Superior Court by sheriff's investigators, shows that the slain boy, Gabriel Garcia, was an innocent witness to an apparently botched illegal immigrant handoff at a Cajon Pass restaurant Dec. 11.

    The reports show investigators working around the clock since the shooting, compiling numerous witness interviews and statements as well as a polygraph examination.

    The fatal chase, initially described as road rage in media reports, involved two men in a white 1996 Ford Explorer twice firing bursts into a black Nissan Maxima that contained the boy as well as two illegal immigrants, the records say.

    Pedro Escobedo, 43, surrendered to San Bernardino County sheriff's officials Thursday afternoon hours before the boy was removed from life support at Riverside Community Hospital.

    On Friday, Escobedo pleaded not guilty to a single murder charge in a downtown San Bernardino courtroom. He is set to return to court Jan. 19.

    A detective's interview with the boy's mother, identified as Elizabeth Garcia, said that earlier that afternoon, she had given her son permission to presumably spend a few hours with a family friend who drove the Nissan.

    Garcia said she knew the man, identified as "Juan Gomez" in reports, through her estranged husband. She told authorities that she did not know his contact information or that he was involved in smuggling illegal immigrants.

    Garcia called police the evening of Dec. 11 when her son did not return home, sheriff's reports said.

    "I don't have any reason to think that boy was anything other than an innocent victim in the wrong place at the wrong time," Dwight Moore, a San Bernardino County supervising deputy district attorney, said in a telephone interview.

    Key Witness

    The sheriff's reports include an extensive interview and a polygraph examination ofGregorio Zuniga Hernandez, 32, identified as in illegal immigrant from Mexico who witnessed the botched handoff and ended up driving the fleeing Nissan.

    His account is the only one in court records that contains a statement from a witness involved in the car chase.

    Hernandez told investigators that he has been entering and leaving the United States for 10 years and that he met Juan Gomez in Whittier about noon Dec. 11. He said two illegal immigrants from Mexico were sitting in the back seat of the Nissan. He said the boy was sitting in front.

    "Gomez told Hernandez that he was being paid $40 for each person he delivered to their family members," documents say. "Gomez's role was that of a middle man delivering the two illegal immigrants to the family for the coyote."

    As they merged north onto Interstate 15 near the Cajon Pass, Gomez received a call to meet a man at the McDonald's restaurant at the Highway 138 exit.

    At the McDonald's, Gomez met with a man from the white Ford Explorer, and a confrontation ensued, Hernandez said.

    "The family of the two subjects that Gomez was supposed to deliver did not want to pay the coyote's fee at the time of delivery," the report says. "Normally, the cost of bringing the illegal immigrants across the border is collected (when they are) delivered to their family."

    Hernandez told investigators that four men unexpectedly approached the Nissan, and Gomez fled on foot toward the mountains.

    He said Gomez told him to flee -- and Hernandez, a licensed North Carolina driver, drove the Nissan and weaved through heavy traffic south on Interstate 15 at speeds exceeding 80 mph.

    As he approached the Interstate 15-215 interchange in Devore, a passenger in the pursing Ford leaned out the passenger window and fired four or five shots, Hernandez said.

    Hernandez recalled for investigators that he told his passengers to get down. He said the slain boy remained upright during the chase.

    About 20 minutes later, as they fled south in Interstate 15, a different man leaned from a rear window and fired six more shots, one striking the boy in the head, Hernandez said.

    Despite having a flat tire, Hernandez said he kept driving for another 20 minutes. He said the boy did not need medical attention, and he was too nervous to call police with his cellular telephone.

    Hernandez said he spun out after entering a shopping center in Eastvale, near Norco.

    A witness in a nearby Applebee's restaurant told Riverside County sheriff's officials that the two men in the Nissan jumped into the Explorer before it fled. A nurse attempted to help the dying boy, reports said.

    Hernandez, grazed by a bullet in his upper arm, fled into a nearby department store, where he bought a new shirt and dressed in front of the cashier. He was questioned at a nearby Best Buy store, where he had fled for protection.

    One Arrest

    Escobedo surrendered Thursday afternoon at San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department headquarters in San Bernardino. An investigator for his attorney, Paul Opel, told officials where to find the Explorer, which they seized.

    No interview was held, reports said. Opel could not be reached for comment Monday.

    Reports identified Escobedo as the driver of the Explorer -- and not one of the two men who apparently had leaned out of its window and fired 13 bullets at the Nissan on Dec. 11.

    Sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers said Monday that Escobedo's arrest is the only one so far.

    She said illegal-immigrant smuggling has come up during the ongoing investigation.

    "It's not clear if that is the motive for the shooting," Beavers said.

    Moore said Monday that Hernandez provided authorities with their initial account, but investigators have more questions than answers.

    "All we've got so far is the first story," Moore said. "You have to retain a healthy skepticism."

    Reach John F. Berry at 909-806-3058 or jberry@PE.com

    http://www.pe.com/localnews/immigration ... 947ec.html

  2. #2
    Senior Member Skip's Avatar
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    911 dispatcher's scolding of caller investigated

    CAR SHOOTING: Motorists were wrongly told they should have followed the suspects, officials say.

    07:56 AM PST on Thursday, December 14, 2006

    By SONJA BJELLAND
    The Press-Enterprise

    Audio: 911 tape Part 1 | Part 2

    http://www.pe.com/multimedia/audio/2006 ... TING_1.wma

    http://www.pe.com/multimedia/audio/2006 ... TING_2.wma


    A good Samaritan calling 911 to report a shooting on Interstate 15 was given some bad advice, according to CHP officials.

    On Monday, the motorist saw someone in a white Ford Explorer shooting at a black Nissan around Sierra Avenue in Fontana and called 911. The shooting left a 12-year-old Hesperia boy critically injured and on life support.

    "We can't keep up with him; he's driving like a maniac," the unidentified caller told the dispatcher at the California Highway Patrol Inland division central dispatch center.

    "... They're shooting at him again. They're shooting at him."

    In the course of the exchange, the dispatcher told the caller she should have stayed with the car and chided the caller by saying they had probably lost a chance to find the suspects.

    Agency supervisors are now investigating why the dispatcher told the caller to follow the suspect's vehicle, said Officer Mario Lopez, who cited personnel privacy in not releasing the dispatcher's name or disciplinary action taken.

    "We admonish them not to keep up with the vehicles that are driving erratically and are dangerous," Lopez said in defining their policy.

    "The bottom line is, we don't want to put these witnesses in harm's way."

    The Nissan had at least 10 bullet holes by the time it stopped on Limonite Avenue in Eastvale.

    Police are continuing to search for a San Bernardino man believed to have been driving the Explorer.

    Lopez said the CHP encourages people to call 911 when they see any type of emergency. They suggest trying to collect as much information as possible, such as the vehicle description, license plate, color, make, model and direction of travel.

    The caller Monday was a passenger in a car heading south on the freeway that pulled over when they saw a CHP officer. They told the officer what had happened and the officer, along with others in the area, set out to look for the two vehicles, Lopez said.

    "I think he was a highway patrolman," the caller said to the dispatcher.

    "I understand that, but if you would have stayed on the line with me it would have helped out a lot faster than you guys stopping," the dispatcher responded. "... OK, but do you not understand that I have communication with officers and now you're no longer behind them and now we'll never catch them?"

    Because of witness information, police are looking for the white Ford Explorer with the license plate 7S43483.

    The SUV is registered to Pedro Escobedo, 43, of San Bernardino. The district attorney's office has issued a warrant on suspicion of attempted murder for Escobedo.

    Anyone with information is asked to contact the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department at 909-387-3589.

    Reach Sonja Bjelland at 951-893-2114 or sbjelland@PE.com

    http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stor ... d442a.html

  3. #3
    Senior Member Skip's Avatar
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    Second man arrested in shooting death on SoCal freeway

    By: Associated Press Wire Reports -
    JANUARY 14, 2007

    SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) -- A second man has been arrested in the freeway shooting death of a 12-year-old boy that may have stemmed from an immigrant smuggling deal gone sour, authorities said Saturday.

    Luis Chavira, 23, was arrested Friday for investigation of murder in the slaying of Gabriel Garcia, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

    Chavira was linked to the murder through evidence recovered from a white Ford Explorer whose passengers allegedly fired the shots that killed the boy, sheriff's officials said.


    Garcia of Hesperia died at a hospital days after the Dec. 11 shooting on Interstate 215. Authorities originally thought the shooting was an act of road rage, but in court documents a man indicated it stemmed from an illegal immigrant smuggling deal gone bad.

    Gregorio Hernandez, 32, said he was driving the car in which the boy was riding along with two illegal immigrants and a friend, who planned to hand over the immigrants to family members in exchange for $40 each.

    A dispute arose when they stopped in a parking lot to make the transfer with people in a second car, leading to a chase during which shots were fired, Hernandez said.

    Hernandez, who is in the country illegally, said he kept driving for 20 to 30 minutes, hoping someone would call police because he was afraid to call himself.

    The driver of the Explorer, 43-year-old Pedro Escobedo, turned himself in three days after the shooting. He has pleaded not guilty to felony murder charges.

    http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01 ... 142653.txt

    Comments On This Story

    Note: Comments reflect the views of readers and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff.

    Skip wrote on January 15, 2007 12:10 AM:"Road rage? No! Third World Illegal Aliens fighting over $40.00? Maybe! Who says they just want to come here and work?"

    B wrote on January 15, 2007 1:05 PM:"Hey, at least the price of lettuce is low! These stories are disgusting me and the U.S.A. is being invaded, people are being murdered, and those in power have no idea how to solve the problems. Why don't we send another 40,000 troops to Iraq, open the U.S./Mexico border, and allow citizens to carry concealed weapons? Sounds crazy, but that would actually make more sense than our current policies. Thumbs down to our federal government."

    Add Your Comments or Letter to the Editor

  4. #4
    Senior Member Dixie's Avatar
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    Skip,

    Good job at putting this all together for us.

    Dixie
    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  5. #5
    Senior Member Skip's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dixie
    Skip,

    Good job at putting this all together for us.

    Dixie
    Thank You, Dixie

    Be sure to listen to the 911 tapes.

    I got a chuckle when the lady caller described the white Ford Explorer as having one of those red stickers on the back window, with a number 12 on it. Pretty common for Illegals in our part of town.

    I have plenty of time today as I am at work for 24 hours.

    R/ Skip

  6. #6
    Senior Member gofer's Avatar
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    a licensed North Carolina driver
    Wouldn't you know it!! You N.C. people need to make sure your reps and the guv see this!

  7. #7
    Senior Member jp_48504's Avatar
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    I stay current on Americans for Legal Immigration PAC's fight to Secure Our Border and Send Illegals Home via E-mail Alerts (CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP)

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