DA has filed charges. Mexican gang mafia, 18th Street gang and homicide of Garcia is believed to be due to an internal gang dispute.
Captain Brian Stephens held the press conference.
This is the text of what Captain Stephens read to the media:
On December 17, 2014, at about 8:10 a.m., a citizen near
McFarland and 15th Street, found a male subject, ultimately
identified as 14 year old Jesus Romero-Garcia, lying on the front lawn of a
home on 15th Street. The
citizen reported Jesus appeared to be sleeping.
The citizen tried to get Jesus’s attention but he would only make
groaning noises. It was raining at the
time and Jesus’s body was wet. The
citizen called the Eureka Police Department at approximately 8:22 a.m. for a
welfare check. At the time the citizen
didn’t notice Jesus had suffered any injuries and none were reported to our
Dispatch center.
At approximately 8:34 a.m., the first two EPD Officers
arrived on scene to investigate. They
contacted Jesus and quickly learned he was bleeding, had been stabbed, and was
having labored breathing. The officers
summoned medical aid to the scene.
Detectives from the Eureka Police Department also responded to the scene
to take over the investigation. City
Ambulance transported Jesus to St. Joseph Hospital’s emergency room where he
was pronounced deceased approximately one hour later. While examining Jesus’ body, investigators
discovered three wounds in his upper front thorax area, consistent with being
stabbed. They also discovered what
appeared to be several defensive knife wounds to his forearm.
Based on the initial facts learned during the investigation
of the crime scene where Jesus was found, investigators believed he suffered
his mortal wounds at another location and was transported and left somewhere
near his final location on 15th Street. It is believed Jesus was left on or near 15th
Street approximately 8 ½ hours prior to being found by the citizen.
On the same day as Jesus’s murder, at approximately 9:00
a.m., the United States Marshall Service Fugitive Task Force, working with the
Fortuna Police Department, received information regarding a felony warrant
suspect, Joseph Daniel Olivo Jr. Olivo’s
warrant was for a parole violation and he was believed to be armed. At approximately 9:45 a.m., Olivo was
observed as an occupant in a parked sedan in the Strong’s Creek Plaza in
Fortuna. Two officers approached the
vehicle and it fled towards Highway 101, resulting in a vehicle pursuit. Olivo eventually pulled to the rear of a
residence and surrendered to officers. A
second subject, Mario Nunez, who had exited Olivo’s vehicle just prior to the
pursuit was located within the Strong’s Creek Plaza and arrested by the Fortuna
Police for a felony warrant and possession of narcotics. As a part of the follow-up investigation
Olivo’s son, Joe Daniel Olivo III was located and arrested. According to the
State Parole, Olivio Jr., and Nunez are connected to the Mexican Mafia as well
as the Sureno gang. Olivo III is known
to EPD officers as an associate to the local Sur 13 gang. These were
significant arrests and would be vital to our homicide investigation.
At the onset of the investigation, Investigators were misled
by social media and were seeking a known Norteno gang member. However, two days after the murder, an
alternate theory began to develop based on other sources. On the afternoon of December 19, 2014,
Investigators received a letter in the mail from an anonymous source. This anonymous source gave specific details
about what happened and who was involved in the murder of Jesus. This source named the four suspects who were
eventually arrested and throughout the investigation, Investigators were able
to find supporting evidence for everything stated in the anonymous letter.
This has been an extensive and complex investigation. Even though we had identified the suspects
early on in the investigation, our Investigators needed to build a case and
collect and process all the relevant evidence and prepare a thorough report
that would assist the District Attorney’s Office with prosecution of the
suspects. This was done through
significant collaboration with the local office of the Federal Bureau of
Investigations, Federal Probation Department, United States Marshall Service,
the local Department of Justice Forensic Lab, the Redding DNA lab, and the San
Luis Obispo Probation Department.
During the course of the investigation, Investigators
obtained and served 15 search warrants, identified and processed several crime
scenes, and collected and processed over 100 pieces of evidence. The result of all this hard work culminated
on February 02, 2016 with warrants being issued by the Humboldt County Superior
Court for the arrests of the following suspects for PC 187 (a) - Murder:
Joe Olivo Jr, 37 years old, Validated Mexican Mafia gang
member from San Luis Obispo, arrested on February 3rd, while being
housed at Pelican Bay Prison. Has
contacts in Eureka since 2008.
Joe Olivo III, 18 years old, Sureno gang member from San
Luis Obispo, arrested on February 2nd by the San Luis Obispo
Probation Department and Gang Task Force.
Has contacts in Eureka starting since 2012.
Mario Nunez, 30 years old, Validated Sureno gang member from
Watsonville, arrested while being housed at San Quentin prison. Has contacts in Eureka since 2000.
Nicholas Leigl, 33 years old, History with the 18th
Street gang from Eureka, arrested on February 3rd by EPD’s POP team
as he arrived at his place of employment.
All the above suspects have ties to the Eureka area and
local arrest. The motive behind the
murder of Jesus appears to be for the furtherance of the Sureno gang and
involved an internal dispute within the gang.
The suspects will all be transported back to Humboldt County
at some point in the future and arraigned on the murder charge.
The Eureka Police Department will not stand for gang
activity in the City of Eureka, especially activity that is associated with
violence. If you’re involved in this
type of activity we will eventually find you and bring you to justice. The citizens
of Eureka and those who come to our city for a multitude of reasons deserve to
live and travel in peace and safety.
Updated Press Release of 12/22/14:
Eureka Police investigating possible homicide of 14 year old Arcata boy:
The identification of the boy is Jesus Joani Garcia-Romero.
A forensic autopsy was conducted at our office on Saturday, December 20, 2014.
This death is a homicide actively being investigated by Eureka Police Department. The cause of death is being withheld due to on-going investigation. Any inquiries should be directed to Eureka Police Detective, Ron Harpham.
Original Press Release:
Officers were dispatched to a report of an unresponsive male lying in the 2300 block of 15th Street. Upon officers arrival they located the subject and determined he was in need of immediate medical aid. Humboldt Bay Fire and City Ambulance responded to the scene and transported the male subject to St. Joseph Hospital. Lifesaving efforts were performed but the male ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
This incident is being actively investigated as a Homicide. Homicide detectives responded to the scene along with an evidence technician and took over the investigation.
It has been determined that the victim is a juvenile who is known to Law Enforcement. The victim’s age and city of residence will be released through the Coroner’s Office once proper next of kin notifications are complete.
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