Tattoo leads to murder conviction

A gang member has been convicted of murder after police used the man's chest tattoo to prove his guilt.

The murder of 23-year-old John Juarez had remained unsolved since January 2004 when he was gunned down outside an off-licence in Pico Rivera, a Hispanic area 11 miles south-east of Los Angeles.

In 2008, LAPD Sergeant Kevin Lloyd however solved the case when he noticed a mugshot of Rivera 13 member Anthony Garcia. He was arrested in October 2008. Police officers then got a confession when they posed as gang members in his jail cell and listened to Garcia brag about the shooting.

In the mugshot, a bare chested Garcia, 25, displayed his elaborate tattoo, which was effectively a retelling of the murder scene.

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The body art included the scene outside the off licence, Mr Ed's Liquor, the words "Rivera Kills", in ference to the gang, and an illustration of a helicopter firing guns at the victim, who was depicted as Mr. Peanuts. Garcia's nickname is "Chopper", while Juarez belonged to a gang called Pico Nuevo, nicknamed "peanuts", but rival gangs.

Garcia is due to be sentenced next month. Mr Lunsford said he potentially faces 65 years to life in prison.

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