PAINFUL WOUNDS REOPENED DEPUTY'S WIDOW CLOSING IN ON JUSTICE.Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer Teri March was a working mom from Saugus thrust onto the stage of international politics when her sheriff's deputy husband was gunned down nearly five years ago by a man investigators said was a career criminal who fled to Mexico. Now, after years of battling Mexico's extradition policy -- a fight March championed -- the U.S. has the suspect in the shooting death of Deputy David March David March (born 25 July 1979) is a professional rugby league player for the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. He plays at hooker. He has a twin brother called Paul March who also plays for the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats. in custody. Murder suspect Jorge Arroyo Jorge Arroyo (1959- ) He is one of the most popular playwrights in the last decades of the Costa Rican Theater. He was born in San José, Costa Rica in 1959, but he grew up in the province of Alajuela. Garcia's years on the run nearly equaled those of the Marches' marriage. And Teri -- remarried now to a real-estate agent Real-Estate Agent A person with a state/provincial license to represent a buyer or a seller in a real-estate transaction in exchange for commission. Most agents work for a real-estate broker or realtor. and the mother of a month-old son -- is confronting powerful feelings of loss that for years she's channeled into activism. ``When I would miss Dave -- I would wake up with that void -- it would quickly shift to Garcia being on the run and what he would possibly do to others. It became my focus for nearly four years,'' March said softly during an interview this week in her Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, home. ``Now, seeing him in the courtroom, I'm actually going to be dealing with Dave's death, reopening some very painful wounds.'' Back at Canyon High School Canyon High School can refer to:
Ten years later, he confided he'd had a crush. They dated and married, David becoming a devoted father to Kayla, Teri's 12-year-old daughter from her first marriage. ``I really thought I was nothing without him,'' Teri March said. ``I saw through his eyes; his joys were mine. I felt more complete with him than I'd ever felt in my own life.'' By that time, David March was a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department This article is about the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, not to be confused with the smaller Los Angeles County Police The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. , assigned to the Temple station in east Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. County. A strapping 6-foot-5, he was trained in martial arts This is a list of martial arts, broken down by region and style. African martial arts Eritrea
``I thought he was invincible,'' Teri said, while confiding con·fid·ing adj. Having a tendency to confide; trusting. con·fid  ing·ly adv. she had some concerns that he was assigned to ride solo while
on patrol. ``I was worried he'd (be) looking in one direction and
could be shot at in his car.''
In cold blood Teri's fears were realized April 29, 2002, when her 33-year-old husband was gunned down in cold blood after he pulled over a black Nissan Maxima The Nissan Maxima is a car manufactured by Nissan that is in a line of upper mid-size executive and sports sedans. The Maxima debuted in 1976 as an upscale version of the Bluebird and was spun into its own line in 1980, having been made continuously since then. on an Irwindale street. She vividly recalls being whisked by a sheriff's helicopter from her Santa Clarita workplace to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, where David's body had been taken. People all around were crying. Teri was taken aside by Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Sheriff Lee Baca Leroy David Baca (b. May 27 1942, East Los Angeles, California) is the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California. After graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School (Los Angeles) in 1960, Baca worked his way through East Los Angeles College before starting with the L.A. , who spoke of her husband in the past tense past tense n. A verb tense used to express an action or a condition that occurred in or during the past. For example, in While she was sewing, he read aloud, was sewing and read are in the past tense. Noun 1. and answered bluntly when she asked whether he was dead. ``I remember crying the hardest I ever cried,'' she said. ``I worried how I was going to tell Kayla.'' Baca held the distraught woman. ``Reliving the experience is difficult even today,'' he said, recalling the moments and hours after Deputy March died. ``We were all grieving at the same time.'' David March had planned to transfer from the Temple station to Santa Clarita on May 5 to be closer to his family. He was buried May 4. Fighting for justice Even as Teri mourned David's death, she found herself fighting to see the man charged with killing her husband brought to justice. A gang member who had previously been deported four times, Garcia was quickly identified by authorities as the motorist who'd fired at March at point-blank range the extent of the apparent right line of a ball discharged. See also: Point-blank . Officials said he'd fled the night of the shooting to his native Mexico, where he hid out until his arrest last February near Guadalajara. Facing a murder charge in March's slaying, Garcia was shielded by a 2001 Mexican Supreme Court ruling that banned extraditing Mexican nationals facing a life sentence in the United States. A treaty signed by the United States and Mexico in 1978 allowed either country to refuse extradition for criminals facing the death penalty -- the usual penalty for killing a cop. The quiet life Teri March led before she was widowed was replaced by activism. The former MRI 1. (application) MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2. MRI - Measurement Requirements and Interface. technician harnessed her frustration and the power of the Internet to launch a Web site, attend rallies, chat on talk radio. She even found herself testifying before a congressional committee looking into the Mexican law, describing for lawmakers how it had blocked her family's fight for justice. The efforts -- some of which are recorded in her handwritten hand·write tr.v. hand·wrote , hand·writ·ten , hand·writ·ing, hand·writes To write by hand. [Back-formation from handwritten.] Adj. 1. ``Book of Harassing Phone Calls'' that documents the hundreds of calls made to officials over the years -- paid off. ``Very much, Teri March was the face of this legal tragedy,'' said Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, who also praised the efforts of David March's parents and his brother and sister. ``(From) the moment David March was murdered till the day his delegated murderer was returned to U.S. soil, they had to await justice -- not just await, but bring it about.'' Marches make waves March's family realized the issue was bigger than their personal loss and Cooley says their waves triggered a sea change. In November 2005, the Mexican high court reversed its earlier decision on extradition for suspects facing life in prison. On prosecutors' promise to seek life in prison rather than the death penalty if Garcia is convicted, Mexican authorities turned him over to U.S. authorities Jan. 9. Four other fugitives have been extradited to the United States since the Mexican courts reversed the ban. ``To have succeeded in causing the Mexican Supreme Court to change its opinion on extradition, ... the doors have been opened for many more murderers to be extradited,'' Cooley said. ``A lot more justice is going to be done for the next of kin The blood relatives entitled by law to inherit the property of a person who dies without leaving a valid will, although the term is sometimes interpreted to include a relationship existing by reason of marriage. Cross-references Descent and Distribution. of murder victims where suspects have fled to Mexico because of the efforts in this particular case.'' Deputies at the Temple sheriff's station in northeast Los Angeles County, where March was assigned, count the days on a white board: 1,395 days Garcia was on the run, 320 days to win the battle over his extradition. The board now tallies the days until Garcia is tried and, deputies hope, convicted of murdering their colleague. They laud Teri for her efforts to bring Garcia to trial. ``She's always made the issue the loss of Dave,'' said Lt. Sheila Sanchez, the station's watch commander on March's last day. ``It's never been focused on anything other than Dave's death and obtaining justice for him.'' Teri March's Web site has had an avalanche of hits and many people have e-mailed her. ``I live in Mexico and you helped to change our outdated laws that prohibited extradition of dangerous criminals facing life in prison and I praise your hard work and determination because other families seeking justice will get it sooner because of your efforts,'' one e-mail read. Teri remarried in 2004, but chooses not to reveal her current surname because she fears reprisals REPRISALS, war. The forcibly taking a thing by one nation which belonged to another, in return or satisfaction for a injury committed by the latter on the former. Vatt. B., 2, ch. 18, s. 342; 1 Bl. Com. ch. 7. 2. from the shooting. Her husband, Gabriel, understands a piece of her heart will always belong to David. Five weeks ago, Teri gave birth to the couple's son. Kayla, now 17, had struggled emotionally for years after David was killed, but she is now a beaming high school junior looking forward to attending college. ``I'm just really excited and grateful that (deputies) would ... risk their lives and (leave) their families to get that guy in Mexico,'' she said. ``I hope they get more (fugitives) in the future.'' Memories on display At Teri's home, glass shelves in a living room curio cu·ri·o n. pl. cu·ri·os A curious or unusual object of art or piece of bric-a-brac. [Short for curiosity. cabinet meld her two lives. The lower shelves display photos and memorabilia from her wedding to Gabriel. The uppermost shelves cradle the flag that draped drape v. draped, drap·ing, drapes v.tr. 1. To cover, dress, or hang with or as if with cloth in loose folds: draped the coffin with a flag; a robe that draped her figure. David's coffin and shell casings from the gun salute at his funeral, photos, a ceramic angel that topped the family's Christmas tree Christmas tree Evergreen tree, usually decorated with lights and ornaments, to celebrate the Christmas season. The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands as symbols of eternal life was common among the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. the year before he died and a silver cross left by a stranger at the spot where March's blood spilled. There is also a gold coin engraved en·grave tr.v. en·graved, en·grav·ing, en·graves 1. To carve, cut, or etch into a material: engraved the champion's name on the trophy. 2. with words David spoke nine days before he died: ``My goals are simple. I will always be painfully honest, work as hard as I can, learn as much as I can and hopefully make a difference in people's lives.'' judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com (661) 257-5255 CAPTION(S): 5 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Santa Clarita resident Teri March sits before a cabinet containing items that remind her of her husband, slain sheriff's Deputy David March, as she looks ahead to the trial of the man charged in his death. (2 -- 3 -- color; 2 color in Valley edition only; 3 ran in Valley edition only) Santa Clarita resident Teri March, awaiting the trial of the man charged with killing her husband, Deputy David March, holds a medal with words written by David given to her at the time of his funeral. David Crane/Staff Photographer (4 -- color) Teri March on her slain husband, sheriff's Deputy David March, above. (5 -- color -- ran in Valley edition only) Jorge Arroyo Garcia, charged with killing sheriff's Deputy David March in 2002, was extradited from Mexico. |
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