Pride is a mighty splendid thing, but too much of it can get you .. well … arrested.
Consider the plight of Los Angeles gang member Anthony Garcia, 25, a member of the Rivera-13 street organization. Garcia is also a man who was so proud of the murder that he committed back in 2004, that he had the crime scene tattooed to his chest, in great detail.
The murder case sat on ice for years, until a member of the LAPD booked Garcia on an unrelated minor offense. You can probably picture what happened next, but rolling out will fill you in anyway.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Garcia was booked on a routine traffic stop, driving with a suspended license. Gang members are required to be photographed shirtless to document tattoos. The eagle-eyed detective was flipping through photos when he noticed Garcia’s tattoo, and thought that he’s seen that place before…back when he was pulling out his own hair, while trying to solve the cold case.
It wasn’t de ja vu; the LAPD detective was looking at the tattooed version of a crime scene.
Garcia’s tattoo illustrates the victim as the body of a peanut; peanut is a derogatory name given to a rival gang member. The man is shot and falls back toward the liquor store. Did we mention the great detail of the incriminating tattoo, all the way down to the Christmas lights outside the liquor store?
To confirm suspicions, the LAPD placed Garcia in a holding cell, where he proudly confessed the origins of his tattoo–a murder he committed–to undercover cops who were posed as gang members.
Garcia was convicted of first degree murder this week. –zondra hughes
