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In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors.
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Calif. officials put spotlight on fugitives who flee to Mexico
Wednesday August 13, 2003
LOS ANGELES (AP) A $100,000 reward and a high-profile lobbying
trip to Mexico focused attention Wednesday on the issue of people
who commit serious crimes in California and then flee across the
border.
Gov. Gray Davis announced the reward for information leading to
the arrest and conviction of the man authorities say committed the
April 2002 murder of Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy David
March.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca met with
officials from Mexico's attorney general's office in Mexico City to
discuss greater cooperation on the extradition of fugitives.
Although the United States and Mexico have an extradition
treaty, many of the 150 Mexican nationals wanted by Los Angeles
County authorities for murder, rape and other serious crimes are
unlikely to be extradited because Mexico's government considers
life sentences and death sentences unconstitutional.
Baca has billed his two-day trip as an effort to improve
cooperation on foreign prosecutions. He plans to visit a Mexican
prison during his stay.
Davis issued the $100,000 reward for clues that could lead
investigators to Armando Garcia, also known as Jorge Arroyo Garcia,
the lead suspect in the shooting death of March during a traffic
stop in Irwindale. March, who was 33, is survived by his wife,
Teri, a teenage daughter, Kayla and his parents.
Authorities believe Garcia, a convicted methamphetamine dealer,
is hiding in Mexico, but they are powerless to arrest him there.
``Detectives have diligently followed every lead brought to
their attention in an effort to bring suspect Garcia to justice,''
Baca said in a statement. ``At this point, all leads have been
exhausted.''
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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