Thread: Mex-Judge, Employees Investigated In Escape Of Suspect In CU

Video: Judge, Employees Investigated In Escape Of Suspect In CU Slaying

Judge, Employees Investigated In Escape Of Suspect In CU Slaying
Suspect Escaped From Jail By Switching Clothes

POSTED: 4:45 pm MDT March 31, 2008
UPDATED: 7:46 pm MDT March 31, 2008

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico -- A Mexican judge, his secretary and two jail employees were under investigation Monday after a man accused of killing a University of Colorado student escaped from jail.

Local prosecutor Guillermo Martin Diaz said the four may have played an active role in helping Alfonso Ramirez walk out of a Puerto Vallarta jail early Friday.

Ramirez is accused of killing 21-year-old David Parrish during a robbery on Wednesday. Parrish, of Boulder, Colo., was on vacation in Mexico.

In a news conference Monday, Diaz said officials want to know why the judge and his secretary issued a release order and the two jail employees let Ramirez go, all before dawn Friday.

The two jail employees have been detained since Friday. Officials are looking for the judge and his secretary.

The city's public safety director has also been suspended without pay pending an investigation of the escape.

Local police initially said Ramirez tricked guards into releasing him by switching clothes with a cellmate who was being held for robbing a bottle of liquor.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Judith Bryan said the killing was the first fatal shooting of an American in Puerto Vallarta that the Embassy had on record. About 1 million Americans visit Puerto Vallarta each year.

She said U.S. officials were working with their Mexican counterparts to ensure that the suspect was detained again and anyone responsible for aiding the escape faced justice.

Friends Remember Slain Student

Parrish's mother, Janet Graaf, was reportedly with him at the time of the shooting and said that her son tried to stop the men from taking her purse. Graaf is an instructor at CU's business school.

The Chancelors office issued a statement on Monday that said students like Parrish are "the heart and the soul of the University."

Dennis Ahlburg, dean of the Leeds School of Business at CU, told 7NEWS, Parrish was a "wonderful young man."

Ahlburg said Parrish shared his mother's interest in developing countries. Graaf is from South Africa and chose to spend the week of Spring Break with her son, according to Ahlburg.

"That says a lot about her, about him, and about their relationship," Ahlburg continued. "They are a wonderful family."

Fellow CU students were just learning of Parrish's death Sunday as they returned to campus from their week-long break.

"It's horrible, trying to do something fun and having it end up so tragically," said Peter Eichar.

A family friend told 7NEWS funeral arrangements are still being made.

Parrish graduated from Boulder High in 2005 and was studying geography at CU, according to school records. He grew up in Boulder.


Previous Stories:
March 31, 2008: Suspect In CU Student Death Gets Out Of Jail
March 30, 2008: U.S. Embassy Says CU Student Killed In Robbery Attempt In Mexico

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/15 ... etail.html

Post about the murder:

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-654563-.html#654563

Earlier story today

Suspect In CU Student Death Gets Out Of Jail
David Parrish Shot While On Spring Break Trip

POSTED: 12:16 pm MDT March 30, 2008
UPDATED: 4:16 pm MDT March 31, 2008


DENVER -- There are now conflicting reports that a suspect accused of shooting a University of Colorado student escaped from jail by switching clothes with another inmate. That initial report was published in a newspaper in Mexico.

It said a guard on duty accidentally released 30-year-old Alfonso Ramirez Sastre Friday morning after he apparently swapped clothing with a cellmate.

Now the Associated Press is reporting a Mexican judge, his secretary and two jail employees are under investigation for the escape.

Local prosecutor Guillermo Martin Diaz said the four may have played an active role in helping Alfonso Ramirez walk out of a Puerto Vallarta jail early Friday.

Diaz said officials want to know why the judge issued a release order and the two jail employees let Ramirez go, all before dawn.

The two jail employees are in jail. Officials are looking for the judge and his secretary.

Sastre was arrested with another man, Daniel Vargas Castaneda, by Mexican police on suspicion that they shot and killed David Parrish.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said 21-year-old Parrish was shot when two men tried to rob him Wednesday.

Parrish's mother, Janet Graaf, was reportedly with him at the time of the shooting and said that her son tried to stop the men from taking her purse. Graaf is an instructor at CU's business school.

Dennis Ahlburg, dean of the Leeds School of Business at CU, told 7NEWS reporter Lane Lyon Sunday, Parrish was a "wonderful young man."

Ahlburg said Parrish shared his mother's interest in developing countries. Graaf is from South Africa and chose to spend the week of Spring Break with her son, according to Ahlburg.

"That says a lot about her, about him, and about their relationship," Ahlburg continued. "They are a wonderful family."

A Puerto Vallarta transit employee saw the shooting take place from a public bus and assisted the victim, according to the police spokeswoman. The woman alerted police, who apprehended the suspects in their car.

Ramirez struck up a friendship with his cellmate, who was arrested for allegedly robbing a bottle of wine, the spokeswoman said. Ramirez then offered the man about $5,000 to swap identities.

Municipal authorities suspended a local public safety director and questioned nine police officers in connection with the jail break, said a second police spokesman who also couldn't be named.

Fellow CU students were just learning of Parrish's death Sunday as they returned to campus from their week-long break.

"It's horrible, trying to do something fun and having it end up so tragically," said Peter Eichar.

A family friend told 7NEWS funeral arrangements are still being made.

Parrish graduated from Boulder High in 2005 and was studying geography at CU, according to school records. He grew up in Boulder. His sister also graduated from Boulder High, and his parents still live here, reported the Daily Camera.

Parrish's parents, who also live in Boulder, declined comment.

"It's an absolute tragedy," said CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard. "It's a huge loss for our community."

CU and Boulder High counselors will be ready Monday to talk with teachers and students.

Parrish was on Boulder High's tennis team all of his four years there. His former coach, Gale Howard, told the Camera Friday he was stunned to hear about the death of his former player who "didn't have a mean bone in him."

"This is the worst thing I've ever heard," Howard said. "This is such a loss."

Jailbreaks are relatively common in Mexico, even in maximum-security prisons.

Mexico's most-wanted drug lord, alleged Sinaloa drug cartel chief Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, escaped from federal prison in 2001 in a laundry cart by bribing guards.

Popular Mexico vacation spots such as Acapulco, Cancun and Baja California have seen an uptick in violence and crime in recent years -- in some cases, hurting tourism.


Previous Story:
March 30, 2008: U.S. Embassy Says CU Student Killed In Robbery Attempt In Mexico

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/15 ... etail.html

About 1 million Americans visit Puerto Vallarta each year.

I think Congress should require vacationers to take an illegal alien back home, if they vacation outside of the country. Take your passport and don't leave home without your illegal alien.

Dixie

Mexican authorities accidentally release man accused of killing Colorado student
8:26 PM

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) -- Two Mexican judges said they accidentally released a suspect in the shooting death of a vacationing University of Colorado student.

Municipal judges Jesus Roberto Gomez and Jorge Alejandro Garcia appeared before the Public Ministry Tuesday amid an investigation into how a man accused of killing 21-year-old David Parrish of Boulder, Colo., escaped from jail.

City officials said Monday they wanted to know why Gomez issued a release order and two jail employees let the suspect go on Friday before dawn -- an hour at which releases are unusual. The jail employees were being held Tuesday at a state prison.

Police initially said suspect Alfonso Ramirez tricked guards into releasing him by switching clothes with a cell mate, who was being held for allegedly stealing a bottle of liquor.

The judges, who have protection orders preventing them from being arrested, said Tuesday they intended to released the liquor suspect because prosecutors had not pressed charges against him and 36 hours had passed since his arrest.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Judith Bryan said the killing, which allegedly happened during a robbery, was the first fatal shooting of an American in Puerto Vallarta the Embassy has on record. About 1 million Americans visit Puerto Vallarta each year.

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