Mexican government vows to help resolve 6 Utah crimes

For the families of six unsolved homicides, justice has been little more than a dream.

Police say they know who committed each killing, but in all of the cases, the men they are looking for are Mexican nationals who left the country to escape answering to the charges.But a recent promise from the Mexican government and quick action by the Utah law enforcement community could signal the first sign of real justice for those families.

Salt Lake Police Chief Ruben Ortega complained about the problem at a recent crime summit of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. The U.S. Department of Justice apparently heard him and put him in touch with Mexican officials who've promised to help find and extradite Mexican citizens accused of violent crimes in Utah but living in Mexico.

Earlier this week Ortega forwarded a packet of information on six illegal immigrants wanted for murder in six separate cases. The packets include summaries of the crimes, descriptions of the suspects, pictures of both the victim and the suspects and who to contact with information.

Five of the wanted men are charged in homicides in Salt Lake City, and one is charged in a killing in Salt Lake County.

Little more than a week ago, Mexico's attorney general representative in 10 Western states, Jorge Garcia Villalobos, met with a number of Utah officials in hopes of hammering out a deal between his country and Utah on extradition.

Ortega said traditionally the Mexican government has been reluctant to send Mexican citizens accused of crimes in the United States back to the states to stand trial.

But the Mexican government recently expressed an interest in changing that attitude and, in turn, the practice of allowing Mexican citizens accused of crimes in the United States to seek refuge in their home country.

Ortega said he's very excited about the opportunity. Salt Lake City is only the second police jurisdiction to seek the government's help in tracking down accused criminals. The Los Angeles Police Department was the first.

"Our hope is with this new attitude, we'll have a better chance that homicide suspects can be extradited (to Utah) to stand trial," Ortega said.

He quoted Villalobos as saying, "The border should not be a sanctuary for those who commit crimes."

At a press conference the two men held July 15, Ortega said he plans to use the new process for drug trafficking cases if it's successful.