Posted on 04/24/2006 9:46:36 AM PDT by CedarDave
Investigators planted court-approved tracking devices on the cars of Michael Paul Astorga's mother, father and wife during the massive manhunt for the suspected cop killer, according to court documents unsealed Friday.
Astorga's mother, Theresa Romero, met with Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White multiple times during the 13-day search, according to documents.
Undersheriff Sal Baragiola said Friday that officers believed she set up the meetings to obtain information about police efforts to find her son and they decided to track her vehicle. They also placed a listening device inside her vehicle.
Astorga's father, Michael Paul Astorga Sr., traveled to Albuquerque from El Paso several days after his son is suspected of shooting Deputy James McGrane Jr.
Baragiola said police believe the elder Astorga was here looking for his son in hopes of cashing in on a $50,000 reward.
Neither parent was available for comment Friday.
Police also installed a tracking device on a car belonging to Marcella Poolaw Astorga, Michael Paul Astorga Jr.'s pregnant wife.
Investigators would not say what was heard or if any of the tracking devices led them to Astorga. But the "listening device in the mother's car was very helpful," Baragiola said after the documents were unsealed.
Astorga, 29, has been indicted for the March 22 slaying of McGrane and the November shooting death of Candido Martinez in Albuquerque.
The manhunt for Astorga ended when he was found in a Ciudad Juárez motel April 3. He is in custody at a maximum security facility in Santa Fe.
Along with placing the devices on the cars, investigators also had several telephone lines tapped. After learning his wife and an aunt had been arrested, Astorga made several phone calls to Albuquerque, police said. Investigators traced the calls to El Paso, then were able to determine Astorga was in Mexico.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
Ping for weekend story.
This family is a petri dish of all the pathologies that screw up this state.
"How dare they engage in surveillance and wiretapping? It's an outrageous assault on our civil liberties!"
(this message brought to you by the DNC.)
I'm expecting that the whole Astorga crime family syndicate will be locked up....at least, let's hope so.
Boy, they are a mini-crime syndicate, aren't they? The whole family is involved in one crime scheme or another. Apparently those who weren't in jail at the time of the sheriff's murder were involved in a driver's license and vehicle title scam. The aunt was a supervisor at the DMV and issued fake licenses falsified titles for family and others. The father came looking for his son aiming to turn him in for the reward money.
"...the elder Astorga was here looking for his son in hopes of cashing in on a $50,000 reward."
Oy, that's pretty low, I think. He's his son, he should turn him in for nothing!
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