Fugitive Search Brought Massive Costs Along with Criminal

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Story Published: Nov 9, 2009 at 7:34 PM PDT

By Peter Bukowski

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When Aaron Lopez Garcia broke out of Sunnyside City Jail, he lead police on a nationwide chase, a massive use of resources all to bring a gun-toting gangbanger back from Mexico.

I asked Phil Schenk, the Deputy Chief at Sunnyside PD, why they didn't just leave Garcia in Mexico. " Well that kind of gives incentives to inmates to get across the border when we're looking for him."

Schenck says bringing Garcia back means setting an example.

"Well we need to show the other inmates and him that our jail is secure and he's not going to escape again," he explains.

But after nearly four years, that's an expensive lesson to teach.

I went to the U.S. Marshals to find out just how massive this search was, and how much it cost.

"if you look at the full scope of the investigation from the time he was arrested with a firearm, charged, all the court proceedings, the the escape, the investigation that preceded that and the continued investigation, the apprehension the transportation. The costs of resources are huge," explained U.S. Marshal Jeff Marty.

Marty called the costs astronomical, but said it was the U.S. Marshals' job to catch fugitive criminals and bring them back here to face justice.

"It is a lot to expend but if you look at the history of cases of people like Aaron Garcia he's dedicated to being a criminal, he's going to continue to be a criminal. With the porous border to Mexico it's not impossible for him to come back up."

So just because Garcia left, doesn't mean he won't come back to cause trouble. It's up the the Marshal's to make sure he comes back in handcuffs.

"It's not over when you break out of jail. It's just the beginning and we'll continue to pursue you forever because the computers never forget," Marty says.

While the costs are huge, U.S. Marshals and Sunnyside PD believe bringing a dangerous criminal back to the community jail, is better than back into your neighborhood

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