POMONA – The man who escaped to Mexico
after murdering Sheriff’s Deputy David March in
Irwindale nearly five years ago pleaded guilty today and
was sentenced to spend the remainder of his life in
prison.
Jorge Arroyo Garcia, 30, also known by various
aliases including Armando Garcia, was sentenced
immediately by Pomona Superior Court Judge Charles
Horan.
“Justice was done today,” District Attorney
Steve Cooley said. “The man who gunned down Deputy
David March nearly five years ago and left him to die on
a street in Irwindale will be locked away forever. It
is the same sentence he would have received had he gone
to trial.
“Had it not been for the persistence and joint
efforts of local, state, federal and Mexican officials,
this day would not have come and Jorge Arroyo Garcia
would still be a free man in Mexico,” he added. Cooley,
who with Sheriff Lee Baca attended the court session,
also praised the “vigilance” of the March family in
ensuring Garcia was captured and returned to stand
trial.
“These criminals are being and will be caught.
They will be returned to the United States – as Garcia
was two months ago,” Cooley said. “They will be
prosecuted. Justice will be served.
“Garcia is the first of several being returned
from Mexico who will be sentenced to life in prison for
his crimes,” Cooley said. “His guilty plea brings hope
to hundreds of next of kin, victims and survivors of
crimes in which the perpetrator fled to Mexico to avoid
prosecution.”
In a written plea agreement initialed and signed
by Garcia, the defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree
murder and admitted that it was an intentional killing
of a peace officer performing his duties, and that the
defendant used a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol to commit the
crime.
Garcia, wearing an orange jailhouse uniform,
answered, “Yes,” or, “No,” through a Spanish-language
interpreter as the judge carefully questioned him on
each of the terms that he signed in the plea agreement.
The defendant quietly and in English read a
short written statement in which he admitted the
killing. He then made a lengthy statement in Spanish in
which he asked for forgiveness by friends and family of
the man he killed.
Barbara March, the deputy’s mother, said, “I
know my son’s heart and I believe in his heart he would
forgive this man for what he has done.
“This man over her chose to do evil with his
life…I am glad now he can serve his punishment for this
horrific crime.”
Horan ordered the defendant to pay $2,225 in
restitution and fees. On motion of Deputy District
Attorney Darren Levine, who prosecuted the case, he
dismissed additional charges after the life sentence was
imposed.
Garcia had been charged with two unrelated
counts of attempted murder.
Deputy March was killed on April 29, 2002, after
a routine traffic stop of Garcia’s car in Irwindale.
The defendant fled after the fatal shooting. Garcia
eventually was arrested in a small town just outside of
Guadalajara on Feb. 23, 2006. He remained in custody
until his Mexican appeals were exhausted, then
extradited to Los Angeles in early January.
sg
