EVIDENCE STILL SCANT IN KILLING OF POLICE CHIEF

Judge In Tijuana Declines To Order Key Suspect's Arrest

TIJUANA -- State prosecutors say they still believe Police Chief Alfredo de
la Torre Marquez was killed on the orders of drug traffickers.

But so far they can't prove it in court.

Their biggest setback came when a Baja California judge refused to issue an
arrest warrant for Vicente Zambada, who authorities suspect arranged the
Feb. 27 slaying on behalf of a Sinaloan drug cartel.

"With the information we have, the warrant would not have been legally
valid," said Judge Maria de Jesus Lopez Gonzalez. "Judges have to be very
careful to not approve such warrants without sufficient proof."

Prosecutors also have been stymied because three additional suspects
accused of carrying out the killing -- including an assistant police chief
who is thought to have mapped out the assault -- are still at large.
Authorities say some or all of the three may provide the crucial tie to
Zambada.

Olga Jimenez, head of the Baja California Attorney General's Office in
Tijuana, said state officials still believe Zambada is connected to the
crime, but added they need to find more evidence. She said she does not
consider the judge's decision a blow against the state's case.

"We know that there are more people who were involved, and we have orders
of arrest against some of them," Jimenez said. "At any time they may be
detained, and with the declarations that they make we may be able to
strengthen our request."

Until recently, prosecutors had been relying on statements by Jaime Ramon
Alcala Garcia, one of the seven suspects arrested in the case, to link the
killing to Zambada.

But during judicial proceedings, which in Mexico give suspects the right to
confirm or deny what they said during interrogation, Alcala denied saying
such a thing.

Even if Alcala had not denied making the statement, the judge said, it
would have been inadmissible hearsay unless prosecutors could explain how
and when Alcala learned about a connection to Zambada.

Zambada's father is Ismael Zambada Garcia, a reputed drug baron in the
state of Sinaloa. In 1998, Ismael Zambada was one of six suspected drug
traffickers targeted by the Mexican government. A reward of 4 million pesos
(about $463,000 at the time) was offered for information leading to his
capture.

Baja California officials say they believe the Zambadas engineered a
killing rampage that took the lives of 15 people over the past year,
including the police chief. Prosecutors said the Sinaloan drug traffickers
wanted to increase their presence in Baja California, which is thought to
be controlled by the rival Arellano Felix cartel.

U.S. agents who monitor drug trafficking in Mexico told The San Diego
Union-Tribune their sources said Chief de la Torre was working for the
Tijuana-based Arellanos. The de la Torre family and local officials deny
the allegation. Those same sources said the Zambadas oversaw the killing.

The FBI has agreed to help search on the U.S. side of the border for two of
the three suspects still at large: Tijuana Assistant Police Chief Juan de
Dios Montenegro and police Officer Praxedis Osuna Solis.

Some say the men have fled to the United States. Others think their bodies
will turn up in a culvert, adding to the growing list of homicides along
Baja California's border region.

The seven suspects already in custody have been transferred to a Mexico
City prison for security reasons. For now they are facing charges related
to de la Torre's death, but state officials predict some or all of the
seven will face additional charges and trials in connection with the other
14 killings.

But not everyone believes proof will be found to link them to those
slayings. Jesus Blancornelas, editor of the respected weekly Zeta, wrote
last week that the state seems to be taking a long time to follow through
on its earlier statements.

Technically, the trial for the de la Torre killing has been in progress for
weeks, even though hundreds of miles separate the men from their Tijuana
attorneys and the Tijuana-based judge.

All the men are being represented by public defenders, who have been
collecting testimony from their clients that might punch holes in the
prosecution's case. If the judge has a question, such as where a certain
suspect was at a certain time, she requests that information through the
defense attorneys.

A court in Mexico City takes the suspects' testimony, then the documents
are stamped, sealed and flown to Tijuana, where the information is
forwarded to the judge.

Under Mexico's judicial system, the judge rather than jurors decides the
case. The suspects' statements are not available for public review, but are
considered crucial to the prosecution's case.

Two of the seven have admitted participating in the killing of de la Torre,
49, public defenders said. The others have contested the accusations,
mostly in terms of what kind of role they played in the crime.

Other evidence, however, may be sketchier. Blood and fingerprint tests have
been done, but it is not known whether they provide any proof. Forensics
specialists have tested bullets found at the crime scene and say they match
weapons confiscated from the suspects. But defense attorneys say that does
not mean their clients are directly linked to the killing.

Still, public defenders in this politically charged case have their work
cut out for them. "It's one of the most difficult cases we've faced in
years," said Manuel Ramirez, who is in charge of the Public Defender's Office.

The de la Torre family has maintained a low profile since the death of its
patriarch. Antonia Brenner, a nun based in Tijuana who has spoken on behalf
of family members, said they have changed their phone number because of an
onslaught of calls from the media and public.

"They are at a grieving point of their lives, and they want to have the
time to accept the reality of what has happened to them," she said.