Raul Gomez-Garcia’s cowardly murder last year of a Denver police officer left behind a trail of broken hearts. The community can take comfort in knowing he will spend most of the rest of his life, if not all of it, behind bars, though it’s better than he deserves.
Gomez-Garcia proved his cowardice the night he ambushed Denver police officers Donnie Young and Jack Bishop in May 2005 – from behind.
And he proved it again Wednesday, when he hid behind a state law that allowed him to skip his sentencing hearing and escape the punishment of hearing from his victims. In absentia, Gomez-Garcia was sentenced on Wednesday to 80 years in prison. He should have been forced to sit and hear the sobs of his victims and feel the pain he inflicted.
Gomez-Garcia killed Young on May 8, 2005, leaving a widow and a daughter. “Donnie was the chain that held our family together,” Kelly Young told a quiet courtroom. “I lost my soulmate and the person I intended to spend the rest of my life with.”
Young’s daughter, Courtney, wrote a letter, read by Judge Larry Naves, about how she has been forced to grow up early, to come to grips with the fact her father will never come home again, never walk her down the aisle at her wedding.
“My dad was my best friend,” she wrote. “He was the one person I wanted to be proud of me. Now I’ll never get to hear him tell me that.”
Bishop survived the shooting, and his testimony helped put Gomez-Garcia in prison. He, too, deserved a chance to address his assailant. Instead, the rights of a killer trumped the rights of his victims.
Gomez-Garcia was led into the courtroom briefly before the proceedings to officially waive his right to attend his sentencing. Shaved into the back of his head was the number “13” – a sign of the Surenos street gang. Apparently the letter “M” – the 13th letter of the alphabet – is used variously by Surenos gang members to denote “murder” or “Mexican.”
Gomez-Garcia ironically told his jailers he needed clippers so he could look nice for his court date. Instead, a cellmate shaved the 13, allowing Gomez-Garcia to prepare for his life behind bars as a gang member – and allowing him to thumb his nose at his victims and the justice system.
His jailers said they didn’t have the authority to shave his head or order him to get rid of the number. Again, the rights of this murderer trump the rights of his victims. Shameful.
