Report: Suspected Cop Killer's Family Flees To Mexico
Group Protests City's Immigration Policy
POSTED: 9:56 am MDT May 16,
2005
UPDATED: 6:05 pm MDT May 16,
2005
DENVER -- The search continues for a 19-year-old man suspected of killing a Denver police officer.Raul Garcia-Gomez is accused of gunning down Denver police Detective Donnie Young. On Monday, police called him "armed and extremely dangerous."
Garcia-Gomez was featured on the TV show "America's Most Wanted" Saturday night. Detectives involved in the search are saying very little about their investigation but they do say that they've received several tips from the nationally televised bulletin.The search is currently focused on the Los Angeles area and Denver homicide detectives in L.A. said they have information that he is still in that area, despite some reports he may have fled to Mexico.The car police believe Garcia-Gomez used to flee Denver was found behind his mother's home in Los Angeles. Her neighbors told reporters that the suspect's mom, Gregoria Gomez, has since fled to Mexico.They say they saw Gomez leave with four of her other children late Saturday.Next-door neighbor Jose Luis Herrera said Garcia-Gomez's 26-year-old cousin, Ismael Goytia, left for Mexico because he was scared after he was mistaken for the suspect by police.
Group Argues That Denver Has Become 'Sanctuary' For Illegal Immigrants
Meanwhile, a group in Denver protest the police department's policy on undocumented immigrants.Protesters with the Colorado Alliance for Imigration Reform gathered at the City and County Building to protest the way illegal immigrants are allowed to live and work so easily in the Denver area, using Garcia-Gomez as the example.They say Denver has become a sanctuary for illegal immigrants and that officials aren't doing their jobs by properly checking paperwork."What happened was that an illegal got across our border, like tens of thousands do everyday, and made it to Denver because he knew that Denver was a sanctuary city and that he's safe here. He can drive without being arrested," said Fred Elbel with the Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform.They want Denver police to end its policy of not taking any action against suspected undocumented aliens, a practice that they said started during Wellington Webb's administration.Denver police officers will not go after any person solely because he or she is suspected of being an undocumented immigrant.Garcia-Gomez, an undocumented Mexican national, is suspected of using fake documents in order to get a job and live here in the Denver area.He was working in the kitchen at the Cherry Cricket Restaurant in Cherry Creek hours after Young was shot and killed.The group is upset that Garcia-Gomez was never reported to immigration authorities after he was stopped three times for traffic violations and he showed no proof of residency, and no proof of insurance.Young and Detective John Bishop were shot from behind on May 8 while working off-duty as security at a baptism celebration. Bishop was treated at a hospital and released the same day.Young was laid to rest last week.There is a $100,000 reward issued for Garcia-Gomez through Crimestoppers. Previous Stories:
- May 13, 2005: Slain Officer Honored In Funeral Service
- May 12, 2005: Injured Police Detective Describes Partner's Fatal Shooting
- May 11, 2005: Suspected Cop Killer's Car Found In Calif.
- May 10, 2005: Suspect In Officer's Slaying Worked At Cherry Cricket
- May 9, 2005: Police Search For Gunman Who Ambushed Officers
- May 8, 2005: Denver Police Officer Shot, Killed
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