I'm stunned by this report from Laredo, Texas.
A Laredo man considered one of the most dangerous people in the country is tonight out of the Webb County jail, a free man, after being caught just a few months ago. A district judge approved bond for 23-year-old Joseph Allen Garcia. That despite the fact he was arrested on charges including flight to avoid prosecution, not to mention murder.
. . .
Bond was set for $1.25 million after his attorney was able to provide proof to the Webb County sheriff’s office that he was worth double that amount.
. . .
This fugitive had been avoiding the authorities for approximately five years and was even featured on Americas Most Wanted.
There's more at the link, including a video report.
Let me get this straight. Just how does a 23-year-old - any 23-year-old - have a personal net worth of $2.5 million??? I can accept that a dot-com genius or a sports star might have that sort of income, but a guy who's been on the run for years? Isn't it patently obvious to the most dim-witted observer that his wealth can only have come from crime?
What's more, he's eluded capture for five years. What makes the court think that his freedom isn't worth more to him than half his net worth? What's more, that's only the net worth they've been able to find in Laredo! Would anyone care to bet that he hasn't got at least as much again stashed elsewhere - probably in Mexico? And would anyone care to bet that he won't cheerfully abandon his bail money, in the sure and certain knowledge that he can make that much again in a few months? After all, he's done it before!
No bets? I thought not . . . I suspect we've seen the last of Senor Garcia for some time. How the court could imagine anything else is utterly beyond me. I wonder what the shades of his alleged victims would say about the judge's trusting nature . . . not to mention the trustworthiness of their alleged murderer?
Peter
I'd say the judge was bought.
ReplyDeletePeter, you've just hit one of my hot buttons. I work in Laredo, a town on the Texas-Mexico border. We see and hear things down there that never make it to most of the country. If you're interested, here's a couple of related posts.
ReplyDeletehttp://bergheimfollies.blogspot.com/2011/02/unanswered-questions.html
http://bergheimfollies.blogspot.com/2011/02/may-they-all-rot-in-hell.html"
Tim
The whole county was bought. $1.25 Million forfeited to the county when he hops bail, plus the perp is probably out on 10% of the bail due to a greedy bail bondsman.
ReplyDelete"Isn't it patently obvious to the most dim-witted observer that his wealth can only have come from crime?"
ReplyDeleteObviously not. Or else, as the previous comments note, the judge & county were bought by the windfall.