As police officers in Colorado buried a murdered colleague on Friday, others in California continued the hunt for the prime suspect, whose car was discovered last week in Los Angeles.
Denver police officers were coordinating a media blitz in Los Angeles to generate interest there in finding suspected cop- killer Raul Garcia-Gomez, 19, said Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
Fliers were being handed out throughout the greater Los Angeles area, with a picture of the suspect and a description of the crime he is accused of. A $100,000 reward is being offered.
Garcia-Gomez is suspected of shooting Denver police Detective Donnie Young and wounding police Detective Jack Bishop during a baptismal party early May 8.
Police say he fired on the officers from behind after they prevented him from re-entering the party.
National news organizations have taken a keen interest in the story, including the TV series “America’s Most Wanted,” which was to feature the dragnet on its show Saturday night.
“This city is a crossroads often for criminals fleeing the country,” said Lt. Paul Vernon, spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. “Any time you have a cop-killer on the run, police departments all over the country are aware of that and will do everything they can to apprehend this guy.”
The Los Angeles department has formed a 200-officer task force to follow leads around the clock, authorities have said.
On Wednesday, police found Garcia-Gomez’s white Dodge Neon behind a Los Angeles home, which they later searched.
Authorities want to prevent Garcia-Gomez from returning to his native Mexico.
They had originally feared he might have already headed there, which would have made extraditing him back to this country tricky since prosecutors in Colorado could seek the death penalty. Mexican authorities do not extradite if a Mexican citizen is facing the death penalty or life in prison.
But authorities believe he may still be in Southern California.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
