Garcetti Urged to Waive Death Penalty in Killings

A man charged with murdering four members of a Rosemead family is “living a normal and unfettered life” in Mexico, and could remain free unless the Los Angeles district attorney waives the death penalty in his case, a U.S. congressman said Friday.

Because capital punishment is unconstitutional in Mexico, authorities there will not extradite suspects who could face the death sentence in other countries.

At a news conference, U.S. Rep. Matthew Martinez (D--Monterey Park) urged Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti to push for life in prison.

Martinez spoke on the sidewalk where 14-year-old Andy Pacheco, a student at Temple Intermediate School, was shot to death last August. A few yards away, family members unveiled two signs that officially named a short street “Andy Pacheco Court.”

On Aug. 9, Evelio Rivera Zacarias, 41, allegedly stormed into the family’s home on Walnut Grove Avenue and opened fire in a fit of jealousy. His former girlfriend was dating Andy’s uncle Jaime.

The girlfriend escaped. Jaime Pacheco, his brother Oscar, his brother-in-law Victor Flores, and Andy were killed.

When officials with the district attorney’s office determined that Zacarias had crossed the border, they said they would press for the death penalty here, but added that the suspect could be tried in Mexican court, in lieu of extradition. They cited the case of David “Spooky” Alvarez, who killed four people in Baldwin Park in 1996 and was tried in Mexico. He was sentenced to life in prison.

But there was a crucial difference between the two cases, Martinez said. Mexican prosecutors took the Alvarez case because his victims were Mexican nationals, he said. The Pachecos are immigrants from El Salvador, and Andy was a U.S. citizen.

Mexican officials in Washington have told Martinez the case would not be tried in their country, creating an apparent impasse that allows Zacarias to live freely.

Sandi Gibbons of the district attorney’s office said Garcetti is “committed to his decision.” She said it would set a bad precedent to let criminals avoid the death sentence by fleeing to Mexico, and would allow another country to dictate sentences for crimes committed here. “It’s not up to another country,” she said.

Martinez said he believes it sets a more dangerous example to allow criminals to go free. “Someone thinking of committing a crime like this and getting away has a two-hour drive to the border for safe haven,” he said.

Martinez said the Pacheco slayings need pressure from the community to prompt the same sense of urgency that followed the North Valley Community Center shooting, which occurred the following day in Granada Hills.

“It’s just another killing in a Mexican neighborhood,” he said. “It’s gangbangers killing gangbangers. Well, this isn’t the case here. These are hard-working people.”