Marine Held After Mexico Driving Deaths

CAMP PENDLETON —  Marine officials placed in custody Wednesday a 21-year-old corporal, who, in a weekend drag-racing incident in Mexico, allegedly struck six youths with his pickup truck, killing four and critically injuring the other two before being arrested in California.

Cpl. Francisco Javier Lopez, who joined the Marine Corps in 1992 and reported to Camp Pendleton a year later, eluded Mexican authorities in a high-speed chase near the border late Saturday and was then detained by U.S. Customs officials on suspicion of drunk driving, officials said.

He was arrested by police in Calexico, Calif., and charged with misdemeanor drunk driving before being released to his mother, who lives in El Centro, authorities said.

Lopez reported for duty Wednesday at Camp Pendleton, where he was questioned for hours by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service before being placed in pretrial confinement.

“The determination to place Lopez in pretrial confinement is the result of his fleeing the scene of an accident involving fatalities and the seriousness of the offense,” said Lt. Col. Jerry Broeckert, spokesman for the base. “Military officials here have assumed jurisdiction in the case. Actual charges are being developed as the investigation continues.”

The charges, which might be filed as early as today, could range from manslaughter to murder, Broeckert said.

Hours after Lopez showed up for duty Wednesday, family members of the victims held a small protest outside the state government center in Mexicali, Baja’s capital. They met with Jorge Anaya Bautista, the state attorney general, to demand justice and express their outrage that the suspect was released.

Anaya said he would pursue his own investigation, according to Carlos Lima, a reporter for La Cronica newspaper who is covering the case. The deputy state attorney general, Perla del Socorro Ibarra, told reporters Wednesday that prosecutors will file an extradition request with U.S. authorities via the Mexican federal attorney general’s office.

Marine officials say extradition is possible but would have to proceed through diplomatic channels involving the U.S. State Department, the Department of Justice and the U.S. attorney’s office. As of late Wednesday, extradition had not been requested, Broeckert said.

The accident occurred in Colonia Baja California, described as a poor neighborhood of Mexicali. The victims, who ranged in age from 12 to 16, were part of a group of teenagers who were hanging out around a small urban campfire on the edge of the road, a common practice in such neighborhoods.

The Marine’s pickup truck lost control and ran over six of the youths, killing three instantly, according to authorities. A fourth later died in the hospital. The others were hospitalized and remain in critical condition, Mexicali newspapers reported Wednesday.

Calexico police investigators say that, minutes after the incident occurred, Mexican authorities pursued Lopez in a high-speed chase that culminated at the Port of Entry dividing Mexicali from Calexico.

U.S. authorities allowed Lopez to enter California, Calexico Police Sgt. Jill Tangedal said Wednesday, because they had no authority not to do so.

“He’s a U.S. citizen,” Tangedal said. “A lot of people are really upset about this, and it’s a tough situation. But what he did in Mexico is nothing we can prosecute on the U.S. side, at least not among civilian authorities. The only thing we had him for was misdemeanor drunk driving, so we released him to his mother in El Centro.”

Tangedal said that Lopez’s blood-alcohol level was .16, which, in California, is twice the legal limit.

Broeckert said that Lopez is a truck driver with the 1st Force Service Support Group.