Months after Raul Gomez-Garcia was captured at his grandmother’s home in Mexico and weeks since his extradition to Denver, not one cent of the $100,000 reward offered for the murder suspect’s arrest has been given to informants who helped police.
Crime Stoppers was publicized as the tip line to call during the manhunt for Gomez-Garcia, but the money cannot be given to anyone unless the informants are nominated by an investigating officer on the Gomez-Garcia case, said Larry Carstensen, board president of Metro Denver Crime Stoppers.
“Crime Stoppers cannot rule on the award,” Carstensen said.
Denver police have not identified anyone to receive the reward. They are still determining who should get it and don’t have a specific date for when they will render their decision, said Denver police spokesman John White.
“We have yet to present our information to the Crime Stoppers board with regard to who should receive the award,” White said. “We will present it before too long, but we can’t put a time frame on it.”
Gomez-Garcia, who is suspected of killing Denver police Detective Donald “Donnie” Young, was captured in June in a grocery store in Culiacán, Mexico.
His grandmother, Florencia Castañeda Rodriguez, told Mexican authorities that he was hiding out at her nearby home and helped them arrest him by taking her grandson to grab a soda at the store, where agents were waiting for him.
The grandmother was not the only informant who aided in his capture.
Police also received cooperation from someone in Denver a day after the shooting. That person told police where Gomez- Garcia might be heading.
The fervor behind the manhunt for Gomez-Garcia, now 20, grew as people learned Young and Detective John “Jack” Bishop were ambushed during a baptismal party on May 8 in west Denver. Bishop was wounded in the shooting but survived because of a bulletproof vest. The officers were working off-duty at the time but were in their police uniforms.
By May 11, the reward for Gomez-Garcia’s capture amounted to $50,000. The next day, the pledges doubled to $100,000.
Gomez-Garcia was extradited from Mexico and arrived in Denver on Dec. 22. He is charged with second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in the shootings of the two officers.
Crime Stoppers board members met Wednesday night to discuss pending rewards.
Four were given out to nominated informants from captures related to the recent sting operation involving Colorado’s 50 Most Wanted, Carstensen said.
Most rewards offered through Crime Stoppers are a fraction of $100,000 – about $1,000.
Crime Stoppers operates a hotline where people can call and leave anonymous tips about crimes or fugitives. Often, these informants can be identified through a number rather than a name so that they may receive a reward.
In most cases, the reward money is gathered from donations, pledges and fundraising.
Denver police say they will discuss the facts of the case with the Crime Stoppers board to determine who gets the money and how much, said police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
“In the midst of all this, we want to be careful what we do say publicly because we do not want to jeopardize this case,” Jackson said.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
