Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley on Wednesday named suspected killers he wants placed on the fast track for extradition now that the Mexican high court has agreed the country can hand over fugitives facing life sentences to the United States.
The Mexican Supreme Court, on a 6-5 vote, ended years of wrangling between the two countries Tuesday by reversing the ban on extraditing U.S. suspects facing life terms.
Jack King, an attorney with the National Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers, warned that U.S. authorities should not expect an immediate flood of fugitives.
"I have not read the decision but I would expect that the Mexican Supreme Court would continue to evaluate these cases on a case-by-case basis," King said of the extraditions.
Cooley acknowledged that hurdles remain, but said that he expected full cooperation from the Mexican government.
"High on my list" of fugitives, Cooley said, is Jorge "Armando" Arroyo Garcia, whom authorities say has been in hiding in Mexico since April 2002, when he allegedly gunned down Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy David March during a traffic stop in Irwindale.
Several hundred murder suspects have fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution in Los Angeles County, Cooley said. Other priorities for capture, he said, include:
* Alavaro Jara, a 26-year-old suspected gang member, is accused of killing 12-year-old Steven Morales in 1998 as the youth played baseball with some friends on a Highland Park cul-de-sac. Morales was caught in the crossfire as he dove to save a friend. Jara fled to Mexico in 2001 with his girlfriend, authorities allege.
* Daniel Perez, 34, is accused of killing his ex-wife's father while on trial for attempting to kill his ex-wife in 1999. Perez kidnapped 27-year-old Anabella Vara at gunpoint from a South Gate restaurant and shot her in the head. While out on bail, authorities said, Perez hunted down Vara's father, Carlos, and beat him to death inside his home. Perez was sentenced in absentia to 33 years in state prison for the attempted murder of his ex-wife.
* Juan Manuel Casillas, 26, allegedly shot to death Olivia Munguia, 17, and Jessica Zavala, 15, in June 1999 as they walked to school in Lynwood. The gunman allegedly was angry with Munguia for breaking off their relationship. Casillas, who was charged with two counts of murder, fled to his native Mexico.
