Extradition of Rape-Murder Suspect Sought

An Oregon man was indicted Thursday on charges that he killed a Torrance man and raped and shot the man’s wife, who played dead while tied to a water bed until the intruder fled in the couple’s truck.

Randy Eugene Garcia, 22, is charged with murder, attempted murder, oral copulation, burglary, and robbery stemming from the May 8 attack on Joseph Finzel and his wife, Lynn. Four days after the attack Garcia was arrested near Portland, where he is being held without bail.

Garcia has declined to return to Los Angeles to face the charges, and Los Angeles prosecutors are preparing to seek his extradition. Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles county district attorney, said that if the governors of California and Oregon concur and Garcia does not successfully appeal, the suspect could be returned by early July for his first court hearing.

Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty because Finzel was killed during the commission of other felonies. In addition, Garcia allegedly used a handgun and severely wounded Lynn Finzel, Deputy District Atty. David Conn said.

Garcia has claimed that he is the victim of mistaken identity and has sought a hearing in Portland, where California authorities must prove he is the man they want. But Torrance police have said evidence in the Finzels’ pickup truck linked Garcia to the crime, and Oregon authorities have said Lynn Finzel identified Garcia in a photo lineup.

The evidence used to indict Garcia will not be made public until he is returned to Los Angeles and arraigned, Gibbons said.