Tuesday, March 06, 2012

$30,000 IN UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS BENEFIT L.A. COUNTY JAIL INMATE

Well, he was unemployed, wasn’t he?

KILLER COLLECTED UNEMPLOYMENT CHECKS WHILE IN JAIL, AUTHORITIES SAY
By Jack Dolan

Los Angeles Times
March 3, 2012

A convicted killer who got caught because he’d tattooed a graphic mural of the murder scene on his chest allegedly raked in more than $30,000 in unemployment benefits while he sat in the Los Angeles County jail system, a sheriff's spokesman said.

Anthony Garcia had family and friends cashing his $1,600-per-month government assistance checks while he served time, said Capt. Mike Parker, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. His accomplices would then deposit a portion of the money into Garcia’s jail account. They also shared the cash with Garcia’s fellow incarcerated gang members.

Police arrested Garcia’s father, 47-year-old Juan Garcia, and girlfriends 45-year-old Sandra Jaimez and 25-year-old Cynthia Limas on unemployment fraud and related charges on Thursday, Parker said.

“It’s pretty appalling when you think about somebody sitting in jail collecting unemployment,” Parker said.

The Sheriff’s Department photographed Garcia’s tattoo after picking him up for a routine traffic stop. The measure is routine with suspected gang members. Later, a detective investigating a 2004 murder outside a Pico Rivera liquor store was flipping through photos when he was stunned to see the crime scene inked in precise detail across a young man’s pudgy chest.

Parker did not say whether Garcia would face additional charges.

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