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Kelly Young and daughters Kelsey, 5, and Kourtney, 13, hold up a thank-you card they made for those who have helped them out since last month s shooting death of Donnie Young. Kelly Young says she was thrilled and relieved by news of an arrest.


Douglas County - The widow of Denver police Detective Donald "Donnie" Young said she doesn't care whether Raul Garcia-Gomez moves through the legal system in the U.S. or Mexico, so long as "justice is served."

"He's going to pay for what he did. Whether that is here or in Mexico, that is not going to bring Donnie back," Kelly Young said of the suspect arrested Saturday in connection with her husband's murder. "If I had my choice, I would have liked it if he was still in the U.S., but I'm just glad he got caught. And I am in support of whatever (Denver officials) decide to do."

Mexican officials refuse to extradite prisoners who would face life in prison without parole or death sentences in the U.S.

So only hours after Raul Garcia-Gomez was arrested in Mexico, authorities began speculating about what it would take to bring him back to Denver. District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said Saturday that he would consult with the Young family before making any decisions about extradition.

In an interview at her Castle Pines home Sunday, Kelly Young said she is thrilled and relieved at the news of Garcia- Gomez's capture in Culiacán, Mexico.

"From what I understand, he may not serve as long down there, but it is much harder time," she said. "Either way I think it will show people that if you make bad choices like this, it will have a negative impact on your life."

Police allege that Garcia- Gomez ambushed Donnie Young and Detective John "Jack" Bishop, who survived his injuries, when the officers were working off-duty at a private event early on May 8, Mother's Day.

Bishop and his family could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Kelly

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Young said as soon as police officials thought Garcia- Gomez left the country, they spoke to her about what that meant to the case.

"They've really been taking care of me," she said.

Two of Donnie Young's former partners have called nearly every day to update her on the investigation and to offer help, she said.

Young said those calls were part of an outpouring of support from the community.

On Sunday, she and her daughters, Kelsey, 5, and Kourtney, 13, finished a poster-sized thank- you card for a landscape company that planted a Brandywine crab-apple tree - a species that flowers each year around Mother's Day - in the Youngs' front yard.

Michael Davis and a crew from his landscape company showed up the day after Donnie Young was killed and went to work. He had never met the Youngs before.

As for Garcia-Gomez, Kelly Young said she still does not know the details of his arrest. But she knows she has a list of officers to thank.

"That group of people that put their lives on the line to make the arrest," she said, "they're at the top of the list."




Alleged cop-killer Raul Garcia-Gomez strolled out of a small grocery store in Culiacán, Mexico, on Saturday evening and found himself surrounded by Mexican and U.S. authorities after a 27-day manhunt through two countries.

"Suffice it to say, he was very surprised," Denver police Division Chief Dave Fisher said Sunday from Mexico City, where Garcia-Gomez is in custody.

Wanted in last month's fatal shooting of Denver police Detective Donald "Donnie" Young and the wounding of Detective John "Jack" Bishop, Garcia-Gomez led authorities on an all-out search that stretched from Colorado to California and into Mexico.

Investigators believe Garcia-Gomez has been in Mexico since about May 11, three days after the shooting. At the time of his arrest, he was staying in Culiacán with an extended-family member, Fisher said. He moved around as police closed in.

"He moved multiple times," Fisher said. "He was feeling the pressure."

Authorities are dismayed at the assistance they believe the 20-year-old Garcia-Gomez received. Already, four people have been arrested and may face charges of aiding the fugitive. Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman said there could be more arrests in Denver, Los Angeles and possibly Mexico.

Garcia-Gomez was arrested about 6 p.m. MDT Saturday by the Agencia Federal de Investigación, Mexico's equivalent of the FBI, and U.S. marshals. Fisher praised the work of the AFI, who he said proved instrumental in tracking the fugitive.

"They delivered in a big way for us," he said. "It couldn't have been done without them."

Investigators drew up a "huge family tree" and went door-to-door among Garcia-Gomez's relatives seeking information, said Denver police spokeswoman Virginia Lopez.

"He knew everybody was hot on his trail. He was making every attempt to elude apprehension," Lopez said.

Ultimately, authorities were led to Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state on Mexico's Pacific coast and home to about 800,000 people.

Now investigators are piecing together his 2,000-mile trail, tracking the suspect's steps. They want to know who provided help or if he confided in anyone.

Lopez said family members and others provided Garcia-Gomez with "financial assistance, food and lodging."

Jaime Arana-Del Angel, 27, was arrested in Denver last week and faces charges of being an accessory to first-degree murder.

Arrested on immigration violations by federal authorities in Los Angeles were Gomez's father, Mercedes Castaneda Gomez; sister, Ayde Gomez; and Santiago Nicholas Hernandez, believed to be living with Garcia-Gomez's aunt.

Fisher said their obstruction delayed the arrest.

"Absolutely it did. We've been so close for so long for so many days," Fisher said. "We will bring the full force of the American and Mexican judicial systems to bear on anyone who obstructed the investigation."

From the moment shots were fired at Salon Ocampo social hall shortly after 1 a.m. May 8 - Mother's Day - Raul Garcia-Gomez was the most-wanted man in Denver.

Police said Garcia-Gomez, an illegal immigrant, attended a baptismal party at the hall, 1733 W. Mississippi Ave., and allege he shot the two officers, who were working off-duty security.

Young, 43, was shot in the head. Bishop, 35, was shot in the back. Police say a bulletproof vest saved his life.

Garcia-Gomez then went home before clocking into work that day at the Cherry Cricket, a popular Cherry Creek eatery where he worked as a dishwasher.

Police said Garcia-Gomez then fled to Los Angeles, meeting up with family members.

He may have taken a bus to Mexico.

In custody

IN MEXICO

Raul Garcia- Gomez, suspect in death of Denver Detective Donald "Donnie" Young and shooting of Detective John "Jack" Bishop

IN DENVER

Jaime Arana-Del Angel, 27, facing charges of being an accessory to first-degree murder

IN LOS ANGELES

Mercedes Castaneda Gomez,

Garcia-Gomez's father

Ayde Gomez, his sister

Santiago Nicholas Hernandez, friend of Garcia-Gomez's aunt

All are being held on immigration violations. They could face charges of harboring a fugitive.

Denver police pledged to the Young and Bishop families that they would find Garcia-Gomez. Fisher said investigators worked nonstop to make that happen.

"The Denver Police Department is here fulfilling a promise," Fisher said.

Now police are working through the Mexican criminal justice system.

Another victim of illegal immigration.  >:(

Another victim of illegal immigration.  >:(
And they have the gall to complain about being harrasses as it may soon be proven they aided in his escape ::)

As long as justice is bestowed it matters not where the person is nor how he/she got there.  The debt should be repaid to humankind, and the individual has riches with which to repay whether here or in Mexico. Be glad to tell you how, but nobody listens anyway, someday maybe :)

As long as justice is bestowed it matters not where the person is nor how he/she got there.  The debt should be repaid to humankind, and the individual has riches with which to repay whether here or in Mexico. Be glad to tell you how, but nobody listens anyway, someday maybe :)
Yep, illegal immigrant or not...a murderer is still a murderer >:(

Another victim of illegal immigration.  >:(


You mean like the illegal immigrant from Canada that crossed over here, killed someone with a chainsaw, and then easily slipped back into Canada WITH the bloody chainsaw in his possession WHILE the border guards waved him on?

His relatives in Mexico actually helped in his capture while the ones in Denver and Los Angeles may be charged for lying