Thread: ustice for Deputy March Murder suspect finally arrested in M

Many thanks to a wonderful lady that is fighting for all of us for this article, as well as my friend Sandy who got me off on the right foot and has become like a sister). To them both, thank you!


http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_3540742

Article Launched: 2/24/2006 12:00 AM

Justice for Deputy March Murder suspect finally arrested in Mexico and facing extradition

By Susan Abram and Patricia Farrell Aidem, Staff Writers
LA Daily News

In a case that became a glaring symbol of how illegal-immigrant fugitives escape U.S. justice, the man accused of killing Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy David March in 2002 has been arrested in Mexico and faces extradition, authorities said Thursday.
Armando Garcia was captured Thursday in a small town outside Guadalajara, and officials with the Attorney General's Office in Mexico City said they will begin the process of returning him to the U.S. - proceedings expected to take about two months.

"It's a great day," said March's widow, Theresa, who learned early in the day that Garcia had been apprehended.

"I feel so relieved that no one was hurt. No one has to live another nightmare at the hands of Armando Garcia. That was my heaviest burden - that he would kill again for his freedom. I prayed for this day."

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley refused to comment on the case, but scheduled a news conference for this morning. Sheriff Lee Baca and Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich also refused to comment.

March, a 33-year-old deputy from Saugus, was gunned down April 29, 2002, as he approached a black Nissan Maxima on an Irwindale street. Garcia, an undocumented worker who had previously been deported four times and was wanted on suspicion of attempted murder, was identified as the prime suspect in the death of the seven-year law enforcement veteran.

U.S. officials believed Garcia had fled to Mexico and sought help from authorities there. The Mexican government has repeatedly refused to extradite to the U.S. as many as 3,000 fugitives - including up to 1,000 accused of crimes in California - who could face the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole.

But the Mexican Attorney General's Office said Thursday that Garcia's detention could lead to better cooperation on extraditions between the two countries.

Mexican officials said their search for Garcia spanned three states before they tracked him down in Tonala, a small town near Guadalajara, a popular tourist destination in the western state of Jalisco.

The March case sparked a national outcry as lawmakers, prosecutors and law enforcement called for changes in the system that would allow undocumented immigrants who commit crimes and flee to be brought to justice.

Theresa March testified before a congressional hearing that spotlighted the Mexican law, which she believed stood in the way of justice for her slain husband. She appeared at rallies and worked to lobby for Garcia's arrest and extradition.

Then, last year, Mexican courts granted the extradition of two murder suspects who faced life in prison with the possibility of parole for cases in Ventura and San Bernardino counties. A fugitive suspected of killing a Denver police officer was returned to Colorado last summer after prosecutors agreed he might someday be paroled.

When the Denver district attorney decided not to seek the death penalty or life without parole for the slaying suspect, Cooley said he would not make similar concessions in the Garcia case.

"It's a matter of principle," Cooley said at the time. "We here in Los Angeles County are not going to discount the price for killing" simply because a suspect flees the country.

While a spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney's Office worried Thursday that "there could be some consequences" if Cooley decides to pursue the death penalty against Garcia, the Mexican Attorney General's Office appeared willing to work through any problems.

"Armando Garcia ... was one of the most sought after fugitives by the United States," said a statement issued by the Mexican government. "(His) detention will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in extradition matters."

Staff Writers Lisa Friedman and Rick Orlov contributed to this report.

Susan Abram, (81 713-3664

susan.abram@dailynews.com

March, a 33-year-old deputy from Saugus, was gunned down April 29, 2002, as he approached a black Nissan Maxima on an Irwindale street. Garcia, "an undocumented worker" who had previously been deported four times and was wanted on suspicion of attempted murder, was identified as the prime suspect in the death of the seven-year law enforcement veteran.

So they still to this day call this murderous thug an "undocumented worker"?!?!

According to America's Most Wanted website:

"Armando Garcia knew that a better life for him lay over the border from his home town in Mexico. But he didn't come to the United States for its job opportunities, he came here for its drug market.

In 1994,Garcia illegally entered the U.S., and according to the DEA began a profitable enterprise selling methamphetamines in California. But eventually the law caught up with Garcia. He was convicted of felony drug distribution and sentenced to four years in prison--but he wouldn't serve it. Months into his sentence, the INS came to see Garcia and decided to deport him back to Mexico.

That didn't keep Garcia from trying to get back into the U.S. In 1997, Garcia was arrested in Southern California, found to be in the country illegally, and once again was sent south of the border. Then again, in 2000, police in El Monte, California found Garcia with an illegal Tec-9 machine pistol. But once again, instead of going to prison, officials decided to deport Garcia and he was sent back to Mexico.

Police say Garcia didn't stay south of the border for long. Police in Baldwin Park, CA say he was selling drugs there. Garcia was also been charged in two separate drive-by shootings. Police think Garcia was well-aware that if he were caught again he wouldn't get by with a slap on the wrist and a trip back home to Mexico. He'd be locked up for life. He reportedly told friends he would never be taken alive."

But this is the Daily News' definition of an "undocumented worker"? As long as you're working at something, even if it's drug trafficking, drive-by shootings and weapons violations and who nows what other crimes he didn't get caught for, if you're an illegal alien, regardless the type of criminal activity involved, you're an "undocumented worker" in their view. What a friggin' disgrace.

And from what it seems, if you're facing the death penalty for heinous, murderous crimes commited in the U.S., you can still get sanctuary from the corrupt Mexican government if faced with the death penalty. What does that say? The more horrific the level of crimes you commit the better off you'll be?

And the INS, instead of holding this scumbag in prison, decided to just deport him after a few months, and what does he do, come back, in days probably, to do it all over again. And then he gets caught again, and they do the same exact thing, let him go free to take a short vacation back in Mexico, just to come back again, until he finally murders a police officer. I think the March's should file a lawsuit against the government for their criminal handling of this scum, deported FOUR TIMES, to come back again and again, thanks to our porous border security, due to Bush's total lack of regard for the lives of innocent Americans and law enforcement.

This may be terrible to say, but I really hope someday, someone in Bush's family gets murdered by a multiply deported illegal alien ...err excuse me... good hearted, "undocumented worker", maybe then he might pull his traitorous, monkey-faced head out of his illegal alien loving arse.