{"id":122652,"date":"2023-12-20T16:40:10","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T16:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/?p=122652"},"modified":"2023-12-20T16:40:10","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T16:40:10","slug":"cop-spots-eerie-detail-in-gangsters-mugshot-then-cracks-unsolved-murder-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/world-news\/cop-spots-eerie-detail-in-gangsters-mugshot-then-cracks-unsolved-murder-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Cop spots eerie detail in gangsters mugshot \u2013\u00a0then cracks unsolved murder case"},"content":{"rendered":"
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    A killer who carried out a brutal gangland slaying was brought to justice after a keen-eyed detective spotted the evidence inked on the guilty man\u2019s skin.<\/p>\n

    Los Angeles gang member John Juarez was shot dead outside Mr. Ed's Liquor store in Pico Rivera, California on January 23, 2004. But the case remained unsolved for years until a routine check by Detective Sergeant Kevin Lloyd revealed an uncanny similarity between the crime scene \u2013 and a huge tattoo on 25-year-old Anthony Garcia\u2019s chest. <\/p>\n

    Podcaster Mr Ballen described how Det. Sgt. Lloyd was grinding through some dull paperwork at the end of a stressful week when he was suddenly struck by the sight of Garcia\u2019s inking. \u201cMany other detectives had seen this document about Anthony Garcia and they hadn't thought anything of it," Mr Ballen said.<\/p>\n

    READ MORE: 'Hooters fight landed me in jail where I was recruited into US's most notorious gang'<\/b><\/p>\n

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    \u201cBut when detective Lloyd looked at this page about Anthony Garcia, a photo of Anthony immediately stood out to the detective.\u201d The stylised scene etched onto the gang member\u2019s chest depicted a \u201cMr Peanut\u201d character being hosed down with bullets from a helicopter.<\/p>\n

    Rivera 13 gang member Garcia\u2019s street name was \u201cChopper,\u201d or helicopter, and the victim was a member of the Pico Nuevo gang \u2013 often described by their enemies as \u201cpeanuts.\u201d Above the inking was another tattoo that read "Rivera Kills.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The tattoo was so uncannily accurate with regards to Juarez's death that Lloyd said it was essentially a "crime scene sketch and a confession." Garcia's tattoo artist even captured the exact trajectory of the bullets that killed Juarez, he added.<\/p>\n

    "Even the peanut guy; he's standing on corner, he gets shot in the head and you can see the shot in the head," Lloyd said. "He lays right there in the liquor store."<\/p>\n

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    The mugshot had been taken six months before Det. Sgt. Lloyd spotted it, and Garcia, who had been picked up for a motoring offence, had already been released. But after taking the photo to the crime scene outside Mr. Ed\u2019s, and comparing it to the actual location, Det. Sgt. Lloyd had no hesitation in calling for Garcia\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n

    An undercover officer, placed in Garcia\u2019s cell in the guise of a fellow-criminal, managed to get the gang-banger to confess to the murder. In May 2011, he was found guilty of murder in the first degree and sentenced to 65 years to life in prison.<\/p>\n

    After Garcia was sentenced, Michelle Sotelo, Juarez\u2019s girlfriend and the mother of his 11-year-old daughter, said she was grateful that Garcia had chosen to get his \u201cstupid\u201d tattoo. \u201cWithout that stupid tattoo,\u201d she said, \u201cyou wouldn\u2019t have been caught.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI won\u2019t say I\u2019m sorry,\u201d she added. \u201cI won\u2019t say I forgive you, because I don\u2019t. It will take me a long, long time.\u201d<\/p>\n