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S.D. police honor Mexican law officers

By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 17, 2005

San Diego's police chief thanked a contingent of Mexican law enforcement officials yesterday for their help in capturing four slaying suspects in Mexico in the past 14 months.

Several dozen officers – state and federal agents, as well as city police officers – received certificates and a handshake from Chief William Lansdowne at the San Diego Police Department's headquarters.

"The cases could not have been solved without them," said Homicide Lt. Kevin Rooney. "There were times when we were getting leads in cases that needed to be followed up in Mexico and some dropped everything they were doing in the middle of the night and weekends to work hand in hand as if they were San Diego police officers."

The San Diego Police Department's Mexican liaison unit coordinates cross-border investigations. All four suspects have been handed over to U.S. authorities. Mexican authorities typically deport the suspects if they are U.S. citizens.

The cases the Mexican officers were commended for were:

The apprehension of Samuel Horn in Rosarito Beach in connection with the Aug. 7, 2004, slaying of Paulette Valenzuela in Ocean Beach. Valenzuela was shot to death, and Horn was found six days later by Mexican authorities, Rooney said.

The arrest of Julie Parrish in October 2004. Parrish was linked to the Oct. 17 killing of Jerald Lautin, who was stabbed to death at his home in Pacific Beach. Two months later, after learning she was in Tijuana, San Diego police worked with Mexican state police officers to track her down.

The detention of Edwin Maciel. Maciel and two companions got in an argument with teenager Brandon Yanez, who was shot to death Oct. 23, 2004, in the Jamacha/Lomita area of eastern San Diego. Mexican authorities found Maciel in Tijuana within days of the slaying, Rooney said.

The capture of Ricardo Flores, who was linked to the killing in 2000 of Charles Poag. The case was unsolved for five years until the Police Department received a tip that Flores was in Tijuana.

San Diego police conducted a three-day surveillance with Mexican authorities that led to the capture of Flores on May 16 in the Playas neighborhood, Rooney said.