WIDOW TESTIFIES AT D.C. HEARING OFFICIALS SAY DEPUTY'S KILLER FLED TO MEXICO.

Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - For State Department diplomats, extraditing suspected killers from Mexico is about laws, treaties and delicate international negotiations.

For Teri March of Saugus, it's about her slain husband.

``I think it's important to remember, I'm a real person,'' the 33-year-old widow of Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy David March testified Wednesday before the House Government Reform Committee.

Authorities say Armando Garcia fled to Mexico after fatally shooting David March during a traffic stop in Irwindale in April 2002.

The Mexican government has refused to send Garcia back to Los Angeles. Mexico historically doesn't extradite Mexican nationals facing the death penalty. And a Mexican Supreme Court ruling in 2001 barred the extradition of those facing life in prison.

Law enforcement officials said Garcia, 27, lived in Duarte before fleeing to Mexico. He also is wanted on attempted murder charges in Baldwin Park.

He would face a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison if convicted in Mexico of murdering David March. Teri March said she's not willing to give Mexico the authority to prosecute the case.

``Would you trust Mexico? Would you trust that they would do the right thing?'' she asked Congress.

Officials estimate more than 200 murder suspects from Los Angeles County alone have taken refuge in Mexico in what legal authorities describe as a growing safe haven for killers.

``The lack of extradition means it's relatively safe to kill policemen in this country,'' said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., chairman of the criminal justice subcommittee.

San Mateo County District Attorney James Fox agreed.

``Every peace officer is at significant risk because of that policy,'' Fox testified.

The hearing also highlighted rifts between lawmakers on U.S.-Mexico relations.

Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., urged the United States to rescind Mexico's favorable trade status and renounce all existing extradition treaties with the nation.

``Mexico's refusal to be a good neighbor in the prosecution of dangerous felons should be the first reason for the United States to resist expanded immigration rules and an open border policy.''

But Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Lakewood, said the Mexican government is not the enemy. During Wednesday's hearing, she repeatedly sought and received assurances from Bush administration officials that the Mexican government opposed the court's ruling and continues to try to overturn it.

``They look at Mexico like they're this bad neighbor to the south,'' Sanchez said after the hearing. But she argued the U.S. has as much right to ask the Mexican government to overturn its country's Supreme Court decision as Mexico would have in asking Congress or President Bush to repeal a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Reps. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, have introduced legislation aimed at urging changes to Mexican extradition policies. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein has written a personal appeal to Mexican President Vicente Fox urging him to resolve the problem.

Lisa Friedman, [phone]

lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com