Calif. gangster's tattoo of crime scene helps solve murder

By: Camille Mann
Topics: Daily Blotter

Anthony Garcia

/ Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

(CBS/AP) NORWALK, Calif. - When Los Angeles County Sheriff's homicide investigator Kevin Lloyd was routinely looking through snapshots of tattooed gang members, he saw something that caught his eye - a crime scene he was familiar with.

Anthony Garcia, a member of the Rivera-13 gang, had a tattoo that resembled the scene of the liquor store killing of 23-year-old John Juarez in Pico Rivera on Jan. 23, 2004, reports the Los Angeles Times.

There were numerous details the murder inked on the gang member. The paper reports that the tattoo included the Christmas lights that lined the roof of the liquor store where Juarez was shot and killed, the direction his body fell, the bowed street lamp across the way and the street sign. Above everything read the title, "RIVERA KILLS", a reference to the gang. A helicopter was also placed above the scene raining down bullets, a nod to Garcia's alias "Chopper."

When police discovered the evidence on Garcia's chest in 2008, they launched an investigation, which was followed by the arrest of Garcia, reports the paper.

This week, an undercover policeman placed in Garcia's cell got a confession from the suspect. That yielded a first-degree murder conviction in a killing investigators had initially given up hope on, the paper reports.

"Think about it. He tattooed his confession on his chest. You have a degree of fate with this," Capt. Mike Parker told the Times.

Garcia faces 65 years to life when he is sentenced on May 19 in a Norwalk court.

Pico Rivera is about 10 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

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by munky15 May 3, 2011 2:14 AM EDT: For all of you idiots who is turning this into a race thing he is a citizen. And he will get what he deserves for killing my brother no doubt about that. And the peanut thing, it symbolizes Pico nuevo whose initials are PN. Just to clarify, but whatever like I said he's getting what he deserves.; Reply to this comment


by cheeeech April 27, 2011 9:15 AM EDT: Did anyone else notice that near his right armpit is a depiction of Mr. Planters Peanut in a choke hold by a member of the Rivera gang? Is no one safe?!; Reply to this comment

by rjm2238 April 26, 2011 12:43 PM EDT

In reply to Metlindeux, 26 Apr 11 0308hrs,

I must say, you surely sound like a hate filled Ivory tower elitist indeed. You suggest we talk to the Native Americans with respect to unwanted, (illegal in this case) immigration and imperialism. You suggest we do this when 1) these tribes were slaughtering each other in a quest to control the most and the best lands , 2) obtain the most slaves, 3)when they being slaughtered by the Hispanics from Spain to steal the lands that they stole from the original inhabitants, the very first to arrive here, most likely from Asia.
Bigotry as you call it may also be an earned reaction to anti social and violent criminals who disproportionally represent a particular segment of society. Perhaps you may wrap your Harvard educated mind about some statistics relative to proportions of crimes as committed by proportions of the population. I have and it is quite illuminating. Try the U.S. FBI Uniform Crime Statistics data base.
Speaking of statistics you seem to show a dearth of their understanding when you state that the vast majority of Silicon Valley start ups are from 'Indian Americans', I assume you mean those folks from central Asia, like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Paul Allen etal just to name a prominent few. I would like to know where you got your data from.
You also mention that California belonged to Mexico at some point. Well who 'owned' it prior to Mexico coming into being? The Mexicans stole it from somebody, didn't they? That's just human nature, human history. It has happened worldwide and will continue to.
Your once European culture did actually exist in the US, right up until when we had a little 'Revolutionary moment' and threw the bums out along with , later, your Socialist/Marxist University taught drivel. That also includes your idiotic and despotic UN Covenant Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
That is no more than UN speak for Socialism and Communism in most draconian manifestation. I suspect we are all aware of the wonderful civil and economic rights records your Communistic countries have had over the years with Stalinist purges, 30+ million dead, Mao's Cultural Revolution, 100 million dead, Pol Pots re-education, killing fields, only 2.5 million dead there but it did represent roughly 40% of the total population.
I could go on, but I will not. Your intellect is, in your mind at least, so far superior to anyone who would dare to disagree with you, that you will never change, not one iota.
That said I will leave you to no doubt pat yourself on the back and enjoy your superior Government financed, affirmative action education.
One word of caution however, it gets lonely at the top. The top of a self imposed ivory tower that is.
Via con dios,
Rich in New Mexico.

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by MetlinDeux April 27, 2011 2:18 AM EDT: Dear Rich,

I'm curious to hear what part of my statement was particularly hateful (I know big words can get difficult, but hate can be looked up quite easily in the dictionary).

But going to your post, your first statement displays an appalling lack of understanding the fundamentals of logic. Your logical fallacy is that just because the tribes were killing each other does not in any way make it right for anyone to kill them off and conquer them. Do you see the difference? There is a reason that even in the Nuremberg trials, the Tu Quoque argument was established as being invalid.

And the problem with people who lack a fundamental grasp of statistics trying to talk about statistics is that knowing too little is sometimes worse than knowing nothing at all. Just because an ethnic group is disproportionately linked to a crime does not mean that their ethnicity is the reason for committing the crime. Lurking variables, such as poverty and lack of education, are often the reason. And those variables are the result of several other factors, including discrimination, resource scarcity, and other endemic problems. There is a reason that you also see high crime rates from poor white neighborhoods -- it has nothing to do with race, and everything to do with years of social strata.

I know that the vast majority of the startups are from Indian Americans because I am in the business of starting them and funding them, and these numbers are quite adequately tracked by those whose business it is to make money off of them. For the record, neither Bill Gates nor Paul Allen started Microsoft in Silicon Valley, which happens to be in the state of California (just in case it was another one of those things you did not know). Oops. But then, please feel free to disregard the likes of Vinod Khosla, who founded Sun Microsystems or Sabeer Bhatia who founded Hotmail. Or the fact that Indian Americans such as Amar Bose founded Bose Corporation (you know, those famous speakers). In fact, the biggest hurdle against people of other nationalities -- most of whom have earned advance graduate degrees in the US -- starting companies up is the immigration law that stifles entrepreneurship. The fact that immigrants have been so successful is a statement to their tenacity (and the greatness of this nation, which should be preserved).

And you missed my point completely with respect to California belonging to Mexico. I made that point to highlight the fact that rather than California being a "white European" haven, it has always had a rather disproportionate number of Hispanics. But that is alright, the one thing I've realized from this conversation is that logic is not your strong suit.

You know, your attempt at straw-man arguments are rather amusing. The revolutionary moment was to throw away the chains of the Queen's imperialism and having to pay taxes without representation, which has absolutely nothing to do with Socialism, Marxism, Communism, or any variation thereof. And once again, you equate despotic regimes with tyrannical systems of governance with socialism and communism. Those are arguments against those types of governments, not necessarily those economic systems because true socialism and true communism have never really been tried anywhere. And while we're at it, let me be the first to tell you that you probably will not have a career in law, because anyone who has taken a fundamental philosophy class in logic can poke holes in your ridiculous arguments. But speaking of hate, why do you so hate egalitarian systems? Is it because you are such a proponent of social darwinism that you do not see the value in every human being contributing something to society? I pity you, because you must live in a cynical world filled with anger at helping a fellow human, only made worse by bigotry and a lack of understanding of how things work.

And while my intellect certainly not the greatest, the fact that even the likes of I can pick apart your crazy rant shows just how much worse off you must be.

And oh, the top of the ivory tower is fine just the way it is. My (white and fellow-Harvard educated vegan socialist atheist) wife and I are sitting by our private beach sipping some exquisite Screaming Eagle Cabernet from 1994, with a great view of downtown Boston.

Via con pollo (since I am an atheist, you see),
M.D.


by kenk1966 April 27, 2011 10:41 AM EDT: @RJM,
I just want to thank you and Metlindeux for providing me with this testament to one of the greatest butt-kickings I've seen online in some time! As soon as I saw RJM's reference to "Socialist/Marxist University taught drivel" and "idiotic and despotic UN Covenant Economic, Social and Cultural Rights...UN speak for Socialism and Communism in most draconian manifestation" I knew things were NOT lookin' good for RJM! If RJM doesn't realize that he's been licked BUT GOOD, he should just restrict his half-informed and embarrassing displays to the lobbies of Tea Party Town Hall protests, where he'll have an audience of uneducated buffoons who might actually think he knows what he's talking about. But around the "big boys" here, his display is embarrassing. Good thing he didn't use his real name because he was just made a fool of. And I'll bet "MD" actually went VERY easy on him! That's what you get when you just parrot Tea Party-esque BS on a forum with smart people on it!


by MetlinDeux April 27, 2011 7:13 PM EDT: Dear Kenk, you are too generous, but thank you. I only responded with the very best of intentions.

Best,
M.D.


by brian_norwood April 25, 2011 3:22 PM EDT: If criminals in prison had any brains, they wouldn't be in prison.; Reply to this comment

by rpmpage April 25, 2011 12:55 PM EDT

WHEN THE HELL IS THIS COUNTRY GOING TO WAKE UP AND START KILLING OFF THESE MURDERS QUICK. THIS CRUD IS GOING TO GET OFF WITH 65yrs BECAUSE HE HAD A POOR LIFE AS A KID? SOME OF HIS BUDDIES CUT THE THROATS OF SIX WOMEN IN MEXICO. WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO MOVE UP HERE AND START CUTTING THROATS OF OUR WOMEN UP HERE. IF WE WOULD STOP SCREWING AROUND AND EXECUTE THEM QUICKLY MAY BE IT WOULD START THEM THINKING THAT WE MEAN BUSINESS. WHAT IS THE BORDER FOR.

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by Icediver85 April 25, 2011 2:35 PM EDT: Why should the state of California pay for this crud! Make our prisons like other spots of the world... you go to jail and want to eat; family brings you food. Of course they bring enough for all the guards who handle it. You want clean clothes... better have family!


by tammytyler April 25, 2011 7:06 PM EDT: Blame 2 damaging laws that destroyed the one GREAT UNITED STATES! Both passed by Democrats!

1. The 1965 Immigration Reform Act of 1965. (Signed by President Johnson) The man many people feel murdered President Kennedy!

(This law allowed Third World immigration into the U.S. and
destroyed the balance of our once wonderful European like culture and nation.) We never ever saw a Muslim in the U.S. back then. Nor Mexicans Nationals marching in our streets either!

2. NAFTA (signed by President Bill Clinton) we now have a Kenya born President (according to his grandmother) lobbying for the amnesty of MILLIONS of illegal alien invaders mostly from Mexico
who have no love for Americans or the United States.

Everything is going the way it was intended against the American citizen!


by MetlinDeux April 26, 2011 3:08 AM EDT: @Tammy Tyler,

Yes, clearly immigration by unwanted people has always been a problem. One but need ask Native Americans, or perhaps the entire population of Asia and Latin America would have something to say about imperialism and colonization.

I am both curious and appalled to see the degree of bigotry that is displayed by the likes you -- what does a person's nationality, ethnicity, or religion have anything to do with their ability to be a good, productive member of the American society?

It is curious to see that in your hate-filled statement, you very conveniently exclude the likes of Indian Americans, who are responsible for the vast majority of silicon valley startups and have the highest per-capita income of any ethnic group in the US. Or the likes of Chinese Americans, who get the vast majority of PhDs *and* Master's degrees in the US. But why bother with facts, when you can spew forth alarmist gibberish, right?

And in case you did not know, California belonged to Mexico at one point in time. Like it or not, there have been Hispanics living there for at least the past few hundred years.

The once-wonderful European culture never really existed in the US. Because if it did, we'd adopt socialism the way the likes of Scandinavia did, and actually care for things like more human rights and a liberal outlook.

And speaking for culture, funnily enough, the U.S. is not even a signatory to the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and *Cultural* Rights - something that the rest of Europe is. Because that's how much we "care" about culture. And oh, just so you know, signing that covenant has always been opposed and blocked by Republicans every time it has come up.

And of course, you are perfectly free to disregard this message, seeing as it's coming from a Harvard-educated uncultured non-European non-white immigrant brute (who, incidentally, is married to a rich, white Harvard-educated girl whose family came off the Mayflower II, with all kinds of cultural goodies -- oh snap!). Bigots and idiots, gotta love 'em.


by kirbang April 26, 2011 7:16 PM EDT: If you want to live in Egypt or Syria, move there. We have laws which differentiate us from them. This is a moronic rant based in racism not logic or American values


by Anonomousamerican April 25, 2011 12:31 PM EDT: Gangs are going to be the basis of America soon - all this thug wannabe hard bs and this idiot just one of hundereds- sure put him in a Cali jail and spend more of the tax payers dollars -; Reply to this comment

by mrlibra63 April 24, 2011 2:22 PM EDT

Perhaps MSNBC will do a special on television? "VICTIMIZATION OF ETHNO-DIVERSE CULTURES WHO NEED EDUCATION IN AMERICA."

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by johndevinejr April 25, 2011 11:52 AM EDT: Couldn't wait to make it a race issue could you? But I guess you just say what you think about the most.


by No_Absolutes April 25, 2011 12:02 PM EDT: hey dumba$$...if they reside anywhere within a public school district (which is just about everywhere) then they have the opportunity to educate themselves. No different that the non "ethno-diverse cultures". Its not our fault if theiy're to ignorant to take advantage of that opportunity.

by atomant59 April 24, 2011 2:54 AM EDT

Hey ding dong, Maybe they can put him with all that white trash in Florida that killed that 15 year old boy.

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by Libtardo April 24, 2011 9:15 AM EDT: The perp in Florida is half Mexican and half black.


by atomant59 April 25, 2011 11:37 AM EDT: Look at the pictures fool, 1 half beaner, the rest nothing but White Trailer Park Trash. Any of your relatives ???


by johndevinejr April 25, 2011 11:54 AM EDT: by Libtardo April 24, 2011 9:15 AM EDT
The perp in Florida is half Mexican and half black.

to Libtardo the Teabagger
Go look at the pictures of the Florida kids. Pure white as the driven snow and they all participated.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20056479-504083.html#ixzz1KYCwmgxZ


by No_Absolutes April 25, 2011 12:03 PM EDT: Atom,

That person in the mug-shot with all the tattoos...is that your mom?

by Ding_Dong_Daddy April 23, 2011 9:46 PM EDT

GOOD, this spkic basatrd will be put away for life and become butt buddy's with fat Pedro.

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by MostWantedAxisOfEvil April 23, 2011 11:05 PM EDT: I never knew that Rivera´s rival was Planters Peanut Man Gang. Maybe Rivera hates Peanuts.


by atomant59 April 24, 2011 2:53 AM EDT: Maybe they can put him with all that white trash in Florida that killed that 15 year old boy.


by Blosc27 April 25, 2011 10:52 AM EDT: atomant, maybe you're a stoner, but how many times to you have to be told they weren't White?

by cppthis April 23, 2011 2:04 PM EDT

The Russian gangsters do this a lot too, though they tend to use cryptic symbols rather than cartoon drawings. Nobody accused these guys of being very bright...

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