YAKIMA, Wash. -- A ( Norteno ) gang member who escaped from the Sunnyside jail three years ago and was among the U.S. Marshals' 15 Most Wanted Fugitives is back in the United States after being caught in Mexico.
Aaron Lopez Garcia, 31, was arrested Friday night in Manzanillo, in the state of Colima, according to a news release from the U.S. Marshals.
After appearing in front of a federal magistrate in California, he's expected to return to Washington, according to Darrick Swick, a deputy U.S. marshal in Richland.
"They flew him up here (to the U.S.) tonight," Swick said Saturday night. "He's in some part of California; I'm not sure where."
But, eventually, "He's coming back here," said Swick, who's been on the case since 2006.
Garcia -- who was wanted for escape and firearms violations -- and three other inmates escaped from the Sunnyside City Jail in late November 2006 using metal torn from a mop bucket. They had carved their way through a 1-inch-thick reinforced concrete ceiling, then crawled though ductwork to the roof.
The other three inmates -- Rolando Cortez-Orozco, Roberto Ruiz-Ochoa and Ernesto Gallegos -- were soon captured. All four were being held in the Sunnyside jail under a contract with the U.S. Marshals.
At the time of the jailbreak, Garcia was to be sentenced for illegal possession of a firearm. He had been discovered with a handgun on the floorboard of a vehicle in which he was a passenger on Feb. 10, 2005. Federal charges were filed, he went to trial and was found guilty.
In a separate 2000 case, he was convicted of possessing methamphetamine and of possessing a firearm.
Authorities arrested Garcia without incident near an ice cream factory. He was taken into custody by Colima state police with help from deputy U.S. marshals assigned to the agency's field office in Mexico City. U.S. and Mexican immigration authorities and U.S. Customs and Border Protection also aided in Garcia's arrest.
"This is wonderful news," Sunnyside police Deputy Chief Phil Schenck said Saturday night. "It's really nice that it's done. We've been looking for this guy for quite some time. A lot of resources have gone into this."
The 2006 breakout marked the first time anyone had escaped from the Sunnyside jail since it was built in 1997, Schenck said.
The hole Garcia and the three other inmates escaped through three years ago was just big enough for one person to crawl through, and it was carved in an area of the bathroom ceiling that was not visible to surveillance cameras nor from the door of the cell.
Since then, Schenck said, improvements have been made to the Sunnyside jail.
"I don't know where he'll end up, but I would welcome an opportunity to house him in our jail again," Schenck said. "He would not escape again."
According to the U.S. Marshals, Garcia is a documented member of the Norteños gang and has a history of convictions that include robbery, domestic violence, burglary and assault.
"Aaron Garcia's arrest is an excellent example of how we continue to benefit from an extraordinary relationship with Mexican authorities, as well as our fellow law enforcement agencies," John F. Clark, director of the U.S. Marshals Service, said in the news release. "Garcia has an extensive history of violence and the time has come for him to answer for his crimes."
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/11/07/sunnyside-jail-escapee-caught-after-three-years
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