|
Post by Scumhunter on Mar 26, 2014 10:36:55 GMT -5
Juan Elias Garcia, wanted for the execution-style murder of a 19-year-old New York woman and her 2-year-old son, has been named to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information leading directly to the arrest of Garcia, who is alleged to be a member of the violent Mara Salvatrucha gang—MS-13—and may be hiding in El Salvador. “Garcia’s callous disregard for human life resulted in the senseless murder of a young mother and her helpless 2-year-old son,” said George Venizelos, assistant director in charge of our New York Field Office. “His appointment to the FBI’s Top Ten list illustrates not only the seriousness of his crimes but our commitment to seeking justice for his victims.” The murders occurred in Central Islip, New York in 2010. At that time, Garcia—who is known by the nickname “Cruzito”—was 17 years old. “MS-13 is the most violent gang here of any of the street gangs,” said Special Agent Reynaldo Tariche, who investigated the case with other members of the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force. While gang-related murders are not uncommon on Long Island, “the execution of a 2-year-old and his mother is a new low even for MS-13,” Tariche noted. Garcia had a romantic relationship with the 19-year-old victim, Vanessa Argueta, who had ties to the 18th Street gang and the Latin Kings, two of MS-13’s rivals. After a falling out between Argueta and Garcia, rival gang members allegedly threatened Garcia. When he relayed that information to fellow MS-13 members—that he had been threatened because of information provided by Argueta—it was decided to retaliate against her. “They were going to kill her for disrespecting the gang,” said Special Agent James Lopez, also a member of the task force. According to gang code, Lopez explained, “it is unacceptable for MS-13 members to have girls they associate with be involved with rival gang members. “Garcia was an enthusiastic murderer,” Tariche said. “He was the reason why this happened. He was the one who decided to get the gang involved. It wasn’t about a boyfriend-girlfriend dispute. This was about disrespecting the gang. And the penalty for that is death.” On February 4, 2010, Garcia invited Argueta to dinner but instead lured her and her son into the woods. Along with two other MS-13 members, he executed her with two shots from a handgun while her son looked on. The gun was then turned on the child. The first shot knocked him to the ground but did not kill him. The boy got up and clutched at Garcia’s leg, but another gang member shot again and killed him Garcia should be considered armed and dangerous. He is 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 125 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. He is known to speak Spanish and English and has ties to Santa Rosa de Lima in El Salvador as well as Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama. His two co-conspirators have been convicted of murder and are awaiting sentencing. A fourth defendant charged in connection with the murders—Garcia’s MS-13 leader—has been sentenced to three terms of life in prison, plus 60 years. We need your help: If you have any information concerning the whereabouts of Juan Elias Garcia, contact the FBI’s New York Field Office or your nearest law enforcement agency or U.S. Embassy or Consulate. You can also submit a tip online. www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/suspect-in-mom-toddler-killing-added-to-fbi-most-wanted-list-1.7508817www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/juan-e.-garcia
|
|
|
Post by HeadMarshal on Mar 26, 2014 10:40:27 GMT -5
Wow, this is a horrific fugitive case and a perfect addition to the FBI Top Ten List! I have classes and stuff to do until tonight but hopefully I can read more about this case in the next two hours (or something like that) and add some of the newer fugitive cases to the 2014 Members Most Wanted List Contenders Thread.
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Mar 26, 2014 10:42:21 GMT -5
I edited for the FBI article instead of the Newsday article since it went a little more in-depth. Interestingly enough, this is the first addition under new director James Comey, and I doubt anyone will really have an argument with this one. Much like his predecessor with Edwin Rivera Gracias, it does seem there is more of a focus n MS-13 members when it comes to the FBI's list.
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Mar 26, 2014 11:01:17 GMT -5
Also, the more I read about this case, the more I'm getting pissed off. He is a runaway #1 Most Wanted of 2014 for me at this point.
|
|
|
Post by ja2013 on Mar 26, 2014 14:41:06 GMT -5
The image isn't displaying in the original post @scumhunter. Although I've never heard of this guy, he definitely seems like a good add to the top 10 list to me. I don't see him lasting too long, he is very young and if he hasn't left the states yet then there's an even better chance of him getting caught sooner.
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Mar 26, 2014 14:48:54 GMT -5
The image displays just fine for me on both my laptop and cell phone. Perhaps check again. Can everyone else see the photo?
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Mar 26, 2014 14:51:10 GMT -5
If you mean the article it no longer works for me but the FBI article is more in depth anyway.
|
|
|
Post by ja2013 on Mar 26, 2014 14:52:33 GMT -5
Oh it was my firewall that was blocking the site that hosting the image lol. Works now.
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Mar 26, 2014 15:12:56 GMT -5
Oh it was my firewall that was blocking the site that hosting the image lol. Works now. Haha it's ok, but I agree with you that I have high hopes he can be caught soon. There's a 100 grand reward, and as callous as gang members may be, I'm sure there's some that would draw the line at killing a child. Garcia will have to look over his shoulders even more know since I'm sure there's more than a few people who would like those 100 G's.
|
|
|
Post by Robbie on Mar 26, 2014 15:46:29 GMT -5
That's exactly right, someone in his circle will give him up!!! Just like you said 100 G's. Plus he is young Hopefully he has few ties and has not traveled to many different places.
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Mar 27, 2014 10:24:24 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by HeadMarshal on Mar 27, 2014 12:14:57 GMT -5
Although I usually ignore online comments about news stories, I couldn't resist mentioning this one from a cnn.com commenter whose username is Ralphie (with a picture of Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons). The commenter said "he's going to smell like hot dogs". There's an old Simpsons episode about Ralph saying that before Mayor Quimby tests the jail's electric chair after Bart and Ralph turned off the safety switch, leading to the mayor electrocuting himself. Just felt the comment was hilarious, especially for any Ralph Wiggum fans. Anyway, back to the main topic, I feel that Garcia is the worst fugitive to make the FBI Ten Most Wanted List this decade based on confirmed charges. There was no excuse to execute the two-year old boy, as was mentioned, this is a new low for even MS-13. The best case possibility, is that Garcia spends as much time on the FBI MW List as fellow MS-13 gang member Edwin Gracias, which was 13 days, however that may be too optimistic.
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Mar 27, 2014 14:25:41 GMT -5
That is pretty funny, although New York doesn't have the death penalty. What really gave me the chills was reading that after his mother was shot execution-style, the 2-year old boy reportedly clung on to Garcia's leg's crying. And the response was to shoot him as well. I just can't get that image out of my head. The thing is Gracias pretty much voluntarily surrendered. I'm not so sure Garcia would do the same. But if this guy isn't caught by May, then John Walsh's new show will just have to get him.
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Mar 27, 2014 22:01:09 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by HeadMarshal on Mar 28, 2014 7:24:32 GMT -5
That was quick! The FBI seems to have a ton of luck with MS-13 gang members that make their 10 most wanted list. What interests me is that the MS-13 gang members have been caught/surrendered quickly but the sex-killers believed to be in Latin America (Alexis Flores, Fidel Urbina and Jose Guevara) still remain at large.
|
|