Fugitive Ex-Boyfriend Charged With Murder

A gang member was charged Thursday with the Christmas Eve slaying of his former girlfriend in Van Nuys, but Ruben Dario Garcia continued to elude an intensive police effort to capture him, authorities said.

Garcia was charged with one count of murder in the death of Anna Alfaro, 22, who was fatally shot after being abducted from the front of her family’s home in the 7000 block of Hazeltine Avenue. Authorities said Garcia, 20, is a transient who has lived in the San Fernando Valley as well as downtown Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Dver said additional charges and special circumstances, such as kidnaping or lying in wait, could be added after Garcia’s capture, possibly making the crime a death penalty case.

Los Angeles police stepped up efforts to find Garcia by raiding 11 homes of fellow gang members early Thursday and watching for him at a memorial service for Alfaro. Police also said they would continue keeping Alfaro’s family under protection because of Garcia’s previous threats to kill them.

At the San Fernando Mortuary, a memorial service for Alfaro Thursday evening was attended by several friends and relatives. Family members said the body of the slain woman will be returned to her native El Salvador for burial.

The body of the slain woman lay in a white steel casket in the white gown she had planned to wear at her wedding next year. Her mother, Gloria, fainted at the side of the casket after the service began and was revived by family members. The service was also videotaped by an acquaintance of the family.

Before the service, police officers donned bulletproof vests inside the mortuary and placed a sign out front instructing mourners to enter through a rear door. When mourners arrived, the officers watched closely from their cars parked nearby.

Some of those at the service said they were nervous about the prospect that Garcia might turn up. Authorities allege that Garcia killed Alfaro in a jealous rage and that he has made several threats against other members of her family.

“He just may be crazy enough to come here,” said mourner Jose Alvarenga, 27, who said he had known Garcia for 10 years. “He always has been crazy.”

But police said there was no sighting of Garcia at the memorial Thursday evening.

An anonymous tip that Garcia was hiding in an apartment in East Los Angeles also didn’t pan out. Police went to the apartment in the afternoon and found the man there was Garcia’s brother, who closely resembles him.

Pre-dawn raids on 11 homes and hangouts of members of Garcia’s gang in the Van Nuys-North Hollywood area also failed to lead to the suspect’s capture, police said.

Detectives interviewed several gang members and learned that Garcia was still in the area Wednesday night, when he contacted at least two friends and asked them to drive him to Tijuana, Detective Jim Vojtecky said.

The friends turned the request down and it was unknown if Garcia had found another ride out of the country, Vojtecky said. There were no plans to relax precautions being taken to protect the Alfaro family, he said.