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Suspect wanted to see baby, wife

Family ties draw Gomez-Garcia back to state, lawyer says

Sarah Langbein, Rocky Mountain News

Published December 24, 2005 at midnight

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The Mexican immigrant accused of killing a Denver police detective did not fight extradition to the United States, in part because he wanted to be close to his baby and common-law wife, a lawyer said Friday.

Raul Gomez-Garcia, 20, made his first appearance in a Colorado courtroom Friday, where he was charged with second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. He is accused of killing Detective Donald Young and injuring Detective Jack Bishop on May 8 while they worked off-duty security at a baptismal party.

In a standing-room-only courtroom, filled mostly by 21 sheriff's deputies, Gomez-Garcia appeared calm and showed no emotion.

He was dressed in red jail scrubs, indicating he's a high security risk, and his wrists were shackled to a chain around his waist.

A female interpreter leaned in closely to Gomez-Garcia, translating the court proceedings in a whisper.

His bond was set at $1 million.

Gomez-Garcia's public defender, Fernando Freyre, told the court his client did not want to be contacted by police, the district attorney's office or members of the news media. A Denver police investigator tried to question him early Friday morning, lawyers said. Gomez-Garcia declined to talk to authorities.

Freyre and Rudy Martinez, an attorney with the Mexican Consulate's Office, met with Gomez-Garcia separately.

A police procession escorted Gomez-Garcia from Centennial Airport to Denver police headquarters late Thursday. Around 1:30 a.m. Friday, Martinez said, he met with Gomez-Garcia, who he described as "anxious" and "very conscious about the situation."

Martinez said Gomez-Garcia told him that six other individuals flew with him to Colorado from Mexico. He said they had been kind to him.

Martinez asked Gomez-Garcia if he needed anything, and he responded: "No, I'm perfect."

The inmate, who was apprehended in Mexico about a month after the fatal shooting, said he chose not to fight extradition to the U.S. so he could return to his family in Denver.

"He wants to see his baby," Martinez said. "He wants to be in touch with his wife."

His meeting with wife Sandra Rivas and the couple's baby, Jameled Stacey, could come as early as next week, when Gomez-Garcia is scheduled to be transported to the county jail, Martinez said.

His decision to face charges here meant leaving behind family in Mexico.

His grandmother, who turned him into authorities, will learn Christmas Day that he's gone to the U.S. His family members say she'll be devastated when they tell her the news.

"We feel very guilty because we couldn't help him financially and legally," uncle José Luis Flores-Bueno said Friday.

He and his wife, Veronica Perez, learned of Gomez-Garcia's extradition in the Mexican newspaper El Debate. It was featured on page two.

Around 8 a.m. Friday, Gomez-Garcia was introduced to his attorney, Freyre. The meeting was delayed, Freyre said, as his identification was double and triple checked at the city jail.

Later in court, Freyre objected to having cameras in the courtroom. He said that additional news coverage of the already highly publicized case could bias potential jurors and create the need for a change of venue.

"I need to get a lot more information," before asking for a change of venue for a trial, Freyre told reporters.

"I don't even think that's an issue," District Attorney Mitch Morrissey responded.

Morrissey, who handled the hearing with Chief Deputy DA Bruce Levin, said he was cautiously optimistic.

"I'm happy that we're here today," he said. "This is just another step in the process."

Typically, he said, it takes about 18 months to get to this point in the extradition process.

If convicted, Gomez-Garcia faces up to 96 years in prison. He would be required to serve 75 percent of the sentence, or up to 72 years, before being eligible for parole.

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