Friday, February 24, 2006

Deputy David March's killer arrested in Mexico

I'm not sure how much national play this has gotten, but it's been a big story here in SoCal. Local radio hosts John and Ken discuss the latest on the case regularly and the parents of Deputy March have become vocal advocates in the fight to control our borders, so hopefully we can get Mexico to extradite this thug quickly.

Mexican authorities arrested the suspect in the 2002 killing of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy David March on Thursday, the U.S. embassy in Mexico City reported.

Agents of the Mexican Federal Investigation Agency apprehended Armando “Chato” Garcia, aka Jorge Arroyo Garcia, in the city of Tonala in western Jalisco state, according to an embassy statement.

A spokeswoman for the Mexico Attorney General’s Office confirmed the arrest.

March, 33, of Saugus, was gunned down during what should have been a routine traffic stop in Irwindale on April 29, 2002. Garcia, a Mexican national, reportedly fled to his native Mexico within 24 hours after the slaying.

A host of government officials — from Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon to Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, Sheriff Lee Baca, District Attorney Steve Cooley and City Councilman Bob Kellar — pursued numerous avenues in the last four years to effect Garcia’s arrest and extradition.


This particular case became the symbol of our relationship with Mexico for border control advocates. Hopefully this signals the beginning of a more cooperative Mexican government, otherwise I think it time we start withholding aid to them, until they begin to help secure the border.