The Metro Denver Crime Stoppers board is expected to make an announcement on Nov. 9 regarding the $100,000 reward money that was offered during the manhunt for cop killer Raul Gomez-Garcia.
Crime Stoppers Board President Larry Carstensen, contacted Tuesday, would not say who, if anyone, would receive the money or if it would be divided among several people.
A few weeks ago, Denver detectives made a presentation to the Crime Stoppers board about how they received tips during the Gomez-Garcia case – a first step in Crime Stopper’s process of deciding who should get reward money in the case.
Although Gomez-Garcia was captured almost 17 months ago, police waited until he was convicted Sept. 15 before they made the presentation to Crime Stoppers, saying they did not want to jeopardize the outcome of the criminal case.
The information detectives presented to the board did not include a nomination of a specific person or people who should get the money, said Denver’s chief of police investigations, David Fisher. Police simply reviewed for the board how they obtained information leading to Gomez-Garcia’s capture.
The 21-year-old killer of Denver policeman Donald “Donnie” Young was sentenced Oct. 25 to 80 years in prison.
Gomez-Garcia left Denver a day after the May 8, 2005 shooting, drove to his mother’s home in Los Angeles, then continued on to Culiacan, Mexico.
He was captured there after his paternal grandmother, Florencia Castañeda Rodriguez, cooperated with police and lured him to a corner grocery store where agents were waiting to arrest him on June 4, 2005.
But Denver police have said that Gomez-Garcia’s grandmother was not the only tipster who helped them during the investigation.
The bylaws of Crime Stoppers prevent the board from giving the money to the grandmother outright because she did not call the organization’s tip line directly, officials say.
In such cases, the organization relies on a presentation from police detectives who handled the case so that a decision about who should receive the money can be made.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or at fcardona@denverpost.com.
