Wed May 22 11:01:06 SAST 2013
Wed May 22 11:01:06 SAST 2013

Tattoo lands man in jail

May 23, 2011 | Reuters | 16 comments

Tattoo on his chest memorialized the crime scene

 He was arrested for a traffic offence - until the cop saw the tat 

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A gang member who was linked to a 2004 murder by an elaborate tattoo on his chest that authorities say memorialized the crime scene, has been sentenced to 65 years to life in prison.

Anthony Garcia, 25, was convicted of murder in April in the January 23, 2004 shooting death of 23-year-old John Juarez outside a liquor store in the Los Angeles suburb of Pico Rivera.

Garcia was first suspected in the killing of Juarez after he was arrested in 2008 for driving on a suspended license and a detective noticed his tattoo, which shows a peanut man being shot by a helicopter outside a store.

Prosecutors say the helicopter represents Garcia, whose gang nickname is "Chopper", and that "peanut" is a derogatory term for a rival gang.

"This is completely one-of-a-kind," Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Brock Lunsford said of the tattoo.

During the sentencing hearing Michelle Sotelo, the mother of the victim's daughter, told Garcia that he should blame only himself.

"You were stupid enough to get the tattoo that convicted you," Sotelo said. "I'm not going to say I forgive you because I don't. It's going to take me a long time to think about forgiving you."

Comments

Wed May 22 11:01:07 SAST 2013 ::
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May 23, 2011

Maretiyana

se maumau se banna,
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May 23, 2011

CheeseBoy

one in a million criminal idiot
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May 23, 2011

BradaBrada

Who cares.....strange that the police in this country are so incompetent that we have to report on a foreign countries crime successes.

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May 23, 2011

nevus

you go boy,inxheba le ndoda a li hlekwa kodwa e la kho li ya bophisa.kikikikikiki
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May 23, 2011

Knan

o tshereane jou b#leksem, o tlo kopana le ma-26, they are trully going to b*onk the hell out of that @ss
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May 23, 2011

CheeseBoy

They should start making and giving out annual awards for the dumbest criminals. This guys would scoop it for 2011.
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May 23, 2011

Shredder

@BradaBrada

Who cares.....strange that the police in this country are so incompetent that we have to report on a foreign countries crime successes.
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We need people like you in the country, who can spot where are going wrong as a country so that we can fix it. By the way, what are you doing in your community to make a difference?

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May 23, 2011

BradaBrada

@Shredder
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I pay my taxes......which are supposed to go to the community.

Not sure what happened to it after the ANC spent it on their gold plated cutlery.

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May 23, 2011

BradaBrada

@Shredder
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P.S We live in a country with the highest murder rate in the WORLD.......my comment is more relevant than yours my man.
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May 23, 2011

Givesta

Dam he is really an idiot !lol!
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