Tattoo of 2004 murder scene on chest of Pico Rivera gang member leads to 2011 conviction

Community Message has been issued by the LASD - Headquarters Newsroom (SHB), Los Angeles County Sheriff.


Friday April 22, 2011 3:58 PM PDT

Tattoo of 2004 murder scene on chest of Pico Rivera gang member leads to 2011 conviction

In August of 2008, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Detective Sergeant Kevin Lloyd was looking through photos of gang members tattoos when he saw something that stopped him cold.

The tattoo he saw on the chest of 22-year old Anthony Garcia stunned him. It looked just like a murder scene Sergeant Lloyd remembered from when he worked as a sergeant at Pico Rivera Sheriff's Station in 2004.

The tattoo depicted a victim being shot and a liquor store in the background. The street light and even more details on the tattoo brought back memories.

Although it wasn't the tattoo he was looking for, it certainly got his attention.
Sergeant Lloyd found that the photo of Garcia's chest had been taken on March 28, 2008, by Deputy Mario Chairez of the Pico Rivera Sheriff's Station graffiti team. Deputy Chairez had taken several pictures of Anthony Garcia's tattoos after he was arrested and booked at Pico Rivera Station for driving on a suspended driver's license by the California Highway Patrol officers.

Sergeant Lloyd looked up the unsolved January 23, 2004 murder case and was reminded of when 23-year old Pico Rivera resident John Juarez was shot dead in front of Ed's Liquor at 6616 Rosemead Boulevard in Pico Rivera.

He pored over the cold case file and compared the crime scene photos with the photo of the tattoo on Garcia's chest.

The tattoo window and frames of the store are similar to the crime scene photo of the liquor store, even the tattoo line on the roof represents the Christmas lights.

The tattoo shows a peanut man being shot then falling down face down. A helicopter is depicted shooting the peanut man.

The gang nickname of convicted murderer Anthony Garcia is "Chopper." (Chopper is common slang for a helicopter)

Garcia's gang refers to members of their rival gang as "peanuts."

The direction that the shots were actually fired, matched those in the tattoo.

The tattoo street light and street sign to the left of the liquor store resemble the corner of Rosemead and Carron St., the scene of the murder.

Above the scene on the tattoo it says "RIVERA KILLS." Rivera-13 is the name of Garcia's gang.

Sergeant Llloyd enlisted the aid of Sheriff's Major Crimes Bureau investigators and was able to locate Suspect Garcia living with relatives in the city of La Habra.

An arrest and search warrant was obtained and planned with sheriff's deputies from Major Crimes Bureau, as well as gang investigators with Pico Rivera - Operation Safe Streets Bureau, and Pico Rivera Station patrol deputies.

On October 16, 2008, Garcia was arrested by sheriff's deputies at a La Habra residence without the need for the use of force. He was taken to Norwalk Sheriff's Station and interviewed. While in the station jail he confessed.
Anthony Garcia was booked that day for murder.

The Office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney prosecuted the case against Garcia. On Wednesday, April 20, 2011, Anthony Garcia was convicted by a jury of first degree murder with gang enhancements. He will be sentenced on May 19, 2011, in Norwalk Superior Court.

Sergeant Kevin Lloyd's incredible observation of Garcia's extraordinary tattoo, combined with great investigative work is one of the reasons why sheriff's homicide investigators are known as “The Bulldogs.” Fate and tenacious police work brought this convicted murderer to justice.

During the investigation, Sergeant Lloyd determined that the driver of the getaway car was gang member Robert Armijo, a 28-year old resident of Pico Rivera. He was located by Sheriff's Operation Safe Streets gang investigators in Pico Rivera and arrested. He was interviewed and confessed to Sergeant Lloyd his involvement in the murder. He pled guilty to being the getaway car driver and is facing a sentence of 20 years in prison.

Partner to prevent or report crime by contacting your local Sheriff’s station. Or if you wish to remain Anonymous, call “LA Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org

http://www.lasd.org/
http://sheriff.lacounty.gov/wps/portal/lasd/media/detail/?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/lasd+content/lasd+site/home/home+top+stories/pico_rivera_tattoo_murder_conviction

Captain Mike Parker
Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau - Newsroom
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
(323) 267-4800
SHBNewsroom@lasd.org
http://www.lasd.org/
Leroy D. Baca, Sheriff
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

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