Posted on 01/02/2003 3:31:31 PM PST by coloradan
Man, 30, may have hidden in vehicle of his estranged wife
A man arrested in a New Year's Eve shooting death is a former police officer who may have hidden in his estranged wife's car until she and friends returned from dinner.
Carlos Marquez, 30, was arrested in Lower Downtown less than a block away from where Michael Garth Jr., 26, was killed, Denver Police Sgt. Michael Anderson said Wednesday.
Marquez apparently hid behind the back seat and fled after he allegedly shot Garth, who was driving the sport utility vehicle, police said.
The SUV crashed into a light pole at 15th and Market streets, and Marquez was arrested less than a block away.
Several police officers were in the area because of the New Year's Eve festivities downtown and a fireworks display at 10 p.m. on the 16th Street Mall.
Marquez, who will be arraigned today, resigned from the Aurora Police Department about a year ago, a department spokesman said.
Garth, of Aurora, was shot several times in the back. He was pronounced dead at Denver General Hospital at 10:40 p.m. Tuesday.
Mary Marquez, 29, who was married to Carlos Marquez, was riding in the passenger seat, Anderson said. She and several other passengers weren't harmed.
"We imagine (Carlos) Marquez got into the car after it came downtown," Anderson said.
While the group ate dinner, the car was parked in valet parking. Carlos Marquez apparently got into the SUV and climbed behind the back seat, Anderson said.
Mary Marquez, Garth and the others waited for valet parking to bring them the SUV and apparently heard noise in the vehicle's rear storage area as they drove away, Anderson said.
Carlos Marquez sat up, allegedly fired the shots and fled from the vehicle, Anderson said.
Anderson said investigators haven't determined whether Carlos and Mary Marquez are separated or divorced.
He also said the relationship between Mary Marquez and Garth was unknown. A person who answered the door at the Marquez residence said she was in shock and unable to answer questions.
(By the way, where did the ex-officer get his gun?)
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