With prosecutors heartened by the decision of Mexican authorities to return Raul Gomez-Garcia to the United States, a hearing this week may be critical as prosectors build their case against Gomez-Garcia in the slaying of Denver detective Donald “Donnie” Young.
The hearing is for Jaime Arana-Del Angel, 27, accused of helping Gomez-Garcia, 20, after the Denver shootings of Young and Detective John “Jack” Bishop on May 8.
Arana-Del Angel could become the key prosecution witness against Gomez-Garcia. With Arana-Del Angel’s trial scheduled for early December, prosecutors could strike a deal with Arana-Del Angel, who faces up to 12 years for being an accessory.
Denver defense attorney Dan Recht said that it makes sense for prosecutors to cut a deal with Arana-del Angel.
“There is certainly that distinct possibility,” Recht said. “They (the prosecution) want the main guy. If that means cutting a deal, they’ll do it. It happens every day.”
Larry Pozner, another longtime defense attorney, said he has no doubt that Arana-Del Angel will testify for the prosecution.
“They’ll want to shore up the case. They’ll want to make him a witness,” Pozner said. Pozner noted that helping someone after the main crime is committed, as Arana-Del Angel is accused of doing, is far less serious than helping someone at an earlier stage. Pozner added that a deal may already have been made but not publicly announced.
Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney’s office, said Friday she is unaware of any plea negotiations between the DA’s office and Frank Moya, Arana-Del Angel’s lawyer.
She said, however, she didn’t know what prosecutor Bruce Levin’s strategy is. “I don’t think he would feel free to discuss that. If he did have something like that in mind, he would not serve himself speaking on it publicly,” Kimbrough said.
Arana-Del Angel, in police interviews, said he helped Gomez-Garcia after the shootings out of fear and a desire to help his friend’s family, with whom he was living. After the shootings, investigators say Gomez-Garcia fled to the South Vrain Street home he shared with his girlfriend, her infant daughter, her family and Arana-Del Angel.
Arana-Del Angel told investigators that Gomez-Garcia said he shot the officers but didn’t mean to kill Young. Arana Del-Angel said he helped dig a hole in the backyard and watched as Gomez-Garcia buried the gun’s magazine and ammunition. Later, Arana-del Angel said he bought a map, drove Gomez-Garcia to Parachute and told him how to get to California.
Moya didn’t return calls for comment Friday. Sandra Rivas, Gomez-Garcia’s girlfriend, declined comment Friday.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said he was pleased with the Mexican government’s decision.
“I think the hard work and the good strategic work was done by the Denver district attorney’s office. Obviously they did everything the Mexican government either indirectly or directly told them they had to do to pull this off,” Suthers said.
The decision Thursday culminated months of delicate negotiations. Mexican authorities said in June they wouldn’t extradite Gomez-Garcia if Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey charged him with crimes that carried either the death penalty or a sentence of life in prison without a chance of parole.
As a result, Morrissey charged Gomez-Garcia with second-degree murder in Young’s death and with attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of Bishop – the maximum penalty being 96 years.
The final obstacle to the return of Gomez-Garcia could be what is known as an “Amparo proceeding.”
The proceeding is a hearing that originated in 19th century Mexico. Its purpose is to protect people from any official act that causes harm to a person’s legal interests and is believed to violate the Mexican Constitution.
The person who requests the hearing asks a judge to invalidate the act he is challenging as unconstitutional or illegal.
Gomez-Garcia, being held in Mexico City, has 15 days from the issuance of the extradition order to ask the Mexican federal courts for the hearing. If he makes the request, it could take several months for a judge to rule on his challenge to the Mexican government’s extradition decision.
According to Mexican law, if Gomez-Garcia doesn’t file an Amparo petition within the 15 days, he has waived his rights and will be turned over.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
