Posted on 01/28/2005 11:38:12 PM PST by NativeTexun
THREE MURDER SUSPECTS CAUGHT IN MEXICO
By: KENNETH DEAN, Staff Writer January 28, 2005
Captured in Mexico, three suspects sought in two different murders in Tyler now sit in a Mexican prison, awaiting extradition to face a Smith County jury.
Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham announced the captures of Hersain Gomez, Susana Arroyo and her brother Saul Arroyo at a Friday press conference, where he was joined by federal and local law enforcement officers.
"The district attorney's office, the Tyler Police Department and the FBI have been actively working with the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs to bring these cowards back to Smith County to face justice," he said.
THE CARRIER MURDER
According to earlier reports, Adam Carrier, 18, and a friend, Aaron Daniel Warren, 18, were visiting East Texas with Carrier's mother.
On the night of the murder, they reportedly met six Hispanics at Kilo Land Park in Henderson County and tried to purchase some marijuana.
The six and Carrier and Warren left in two vehicles and went to a remote wooded location in the 200 block of Skidmore Lane, where the groups separated and Carrier's tire was cut.
Bingham said as Carrier tried to change the flat tire, Gomez picked up the spare and beat him over the head. Carrier tried to fight back, but Ms. Arroyo began hitting him repeatedly with the tire tool.
Investigators contend Gomez, 25, and Ms. Arroyo, 23, were the masterminds behind the killing of Carrier.
Four other accomplices received sentences in the slaying, but according to court testimony, it was Ms. Arroyo and Gomez who dragged Carrier into the woods and stabbed him multiple times and cut his throat.
As investigators began to close in on Gomez and Ms. Arroyo, the pair fled Smith County.
Crystal Garcia, who was 14 at the time, pleaded guilty to capital murder and was sentenced to 20 years as a juvenile. Armando Hinijosa, Michael Thompson and Christina Martinez were all sentenced to life in prison for their roles in Carrier's death.
Gomez's brother, Benito, was charged with two counts of hindering apprehension or prosecution after he told police in a videotaped statement his brother and Ms. Arroyo showed up at his house the day Carrier was killed. According to the affidavit, Hersain asked his brother to take them to the bus station so they could go to Mexico.
Benito Gomez, police said, admitted to taking both suspects to their residences to pick up some clothes, then to the downtown bus station, where he bought them two tickets to either Laredo or Mexico.
THE GARCIA MURDER
After a fist fight, Joel Romero Garcia, 31, tried to find a safe haven in an acquaintance's home, but the gunman fired through the walls of the house, killing the man.
On Sept. 9, 2001, Garcia and several men were drinking beer outside the residence located in the 400 block of East Valentine Street - until they ran out.
Garcia reportedly volunteered to get some more, but within minutes became involved in a fight with Saul Arroyo, 24, behind the house.
Witnesses said Garcia, bleeding from facial wounds, ran through the house attempting to escape his attackers. But as he ducked into a hallway, Arroyo, armed with an assault rifle, walked around the side of the house and started firing through the window striking Garcia multiple times.
Bingham said Arroyo then fled to Mexico to escape prosecution.
THE CAPTURES
Bingham said Gomez, also known as "Demon," was located in a Mexican jail in June 2004, facing a burglary charge.
"This information was not released to ensure that the apprehension of Susana Arroyo was not compromised in any way," he said.
Once authorities located Gomez, he was arrested on a United States provisional warrant and placed into custody in Mexico City.
Bingham said Saul Arroyo and his sister were apprehended Thursday in Cuernavaca, Mexico, at her home, but she escaped through a back door by telling authorities she needed some paperwork.
"She was captured early this morning by Mexican officials when they found her hiding in a hotel," he said.
Bingham said Arroyo and his sister were transported to Mexico City and placed in prison on the U.S. warrants.
He also said Mexican officials would not consider extradition to the United States unless Bingham agreed not to seek the death penalty against Gomez and Ms. Arroyo.
Bingham said paperwork had been started to extradite the trio back to Texas, but did not know if that would happen.
"There is no way to know when or if they will in fact be extradited; that is completely up to Mexico. We will everything possible along with the DOJ OIA to get these murderers back to Smith County," he said.
CARRIER'S MOTHER REACTS TO NEWS
Carrier's mother, Jackie Barr, told the Tyler Morning Telegraph in a phone interview that prayers had finally been answered.
Ms. Barr said John Walker, of the U.S. Marshals Service, called her at 7 a.m. then she received a call from Bingham, who informed her of the news.
"It was just an answer to many, many prayers. We've prayed for five-and-a-half years that these people would be brought to justice for the horrendous crime that they committed. We never once gave up hope. We couldn't - we had to keep praying for Adam," she said.
Ms. Barr praised the district attorney's office, Tyler police and other federal agencies that worked diligently to bring her son's accused killers to justice.
"It's been a long five-and-a-half years and I am so glad that they are now in custody," she said.
Ms. Barr said waiving the death penalty to ensure extradition was not a problem with her.
"I have mixed feelings about the death penalty and I just want God to bring these people to justice so another family wouldn't have to go through what I did," she said. "I have not found it in my heart to forgive these people for taking my son's life. I do however pray for their families, because I know they have a parent's love for their children like I do for Adam."
Drugs will kill you in more ways than one.
The Mexican regime (one can hardly call it a government) refuses to extradite anyone to the US who faces a term of more than 30 years.
That's our good amigo Vincente, who is almost as supportive of our war on terrorism as Jacque Chirac!
We ought to make a huge stink about this. If they want to be on friendly relations with their neighbor, they should not be giving sanction to murderers.
What is wrong with this picture?
The federales have no problems with killing people, except when it's done legally.
We need walls along our borders and we need to put everyone here illegally on the other side.
These murderers should be judged guilty and sentenced to death in absentia. The sentence is to be carried out immediately upon their apprehension, if they ever set foot in our country again or a country that will extradite them to us with no strings attached.
Otherwise, let Mexico keep them. What purpose does spending $30,000 to $60,000 per year/per murderer to lock them up serve?
That's just throwing good money after bad.
We should just consider their time in that 3rd-world, Mexican, hell-hole as imprisonment enough.
If we ever get our hands on them again, we execute them.
Funny how you would blame this brutal murder on something as harmless as relatively harmless as pot, instead of the vicious, brutal murderers.
The pot had little to do with his brutal murder. They could have murdered someone in a ruse to buy a set of custom wheels. No, he was brutally murdered by Mexicans, not pot.
Bingham said as Carrier tried to change the flat tire, Gomez picked up the spare and beat him over the head. Carrier tried to fight back, but Ms. Arroyo began hitting him repeatedly with the tire tool.
This was just more Murder by Mexican. It's nice that the Mexicans girlfriend joined in by beating the kid to death with tire iron.
There was another suspect illegal alien not long ago that shot a kid in the face working at a convenience store. Killed him, for 40 bucks and a six pack.
I guess you could say convenience stores can kill you more ways than one.
I'm not blaming the murder on pot. You put yourself at risk running with criminals.
Also on Dobbs was this about criminal illegals. Aired 1/28/05
snip--
It'll all be better, if Bush gets his way and is allowed to legalize this filthy scum. >/sarcasm<
Looks like were all running with criminals now, as Bush continues to allow millions to enter our country illegally, routinely, at will.
More open-border fun. Commit any crime you want against Americans and hightail it back to your own country --- where you can just cross back again as you like, maybe in a different part of the border with a new identity --- easily purchased in Mexico.
Still --- it's smarter to buy your pot from an American.
Bump.
>>More open-border fun. Commit any crime you want against Americans and hightail it back to your own country --- where you can just cross back again as you like, maybe in a different part of the border with a new identity --- easily purchased <<
Well said, unfortunately true!
There's no guarantee yet they'll be extradited but we have a very aggressive district attorney who is not soft on crime!
>>So, the kleptocracy of Mexico refuses to extradite known murderers to the USA because they fear they will be executed but has no discernible problem with their innocent citizens trekking across blazing hot deserts where they die of thirst of are murdered by drug dealers or coyotes?<<
Ironic, huh?
>>What is wrong with this picture?
<<
Lots!
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