TWO AMERICANS KILLED WHILE WAITING TO CROSS INTERNATIONAL BORDER

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

TIJUANA, Mexico – Two men killed early Monday morning by a gunman who opened fire while they waited in line to reach a Tijuana border crossing were U.S. citizens, a diplomat said Tuesday.

U.S. Consulate spokesman Joseph L. Crook said the men were waiting in line in their vehicle early Monday almost half a mile (almost a kilometer) from the San Ysidro crossing, one of the world's busiest ports of entry.

"Our condolences go out to their families at this difficult time," the consulate said in a statement. "We are working closely with the Mexican authorities to ascertain all of the facts."

Prosecutors in Baja California state quoted witnesses as saying a gunman approached the line and fired into the men's pickup truck, hitting the victims in the head, arms and body. Both victims were dead by the time authorities arrived.

Sergio Salcido Luna, 25, and Kevin Joel Romero, 28, were found dead in the vehicle having been shot several times. The men's pickup had California plates. A small amount of drugs were recovered from the scene, local law enforcement said.

Police found 9-mm shell casings at the scene.

Their San Diego employer described them as diligent workers who had moved to the Mexican border city so they could afford to live on the beach.

Matt Pelot of San Diego-based West Coast Beverage Maintenance, confirmed the victims were his employees.

He said Romero's sister called him Monday morning to tell him they had been killed.

"She just said I just wanted to let you know that Sergio and Kevin were shot and killed this morning at the border, and obviously I was taken back," he said. "I was in shock, and I'm still in shock. These were good guys. Obviously no one deserves to die like this, but these were good guys."

The men, who were good friends and had worked for Pelot for more than a year, were crossing around 2:40 a.m. as they usually did to beat the long lines that form later in the morning when thousands cross to go to work or school on the U.S. side, Pelot said. They had moved to Tijuana because of the lower cost of living.

Romero's parents live near the border on the U.S. side and the men would go there to sleep before heading in to work. The two maintained draft beer systems at restaurants and bars in the San Diego area and were always eager to work overtime for the small company, which has 13 employees, Pelot said.

Pelot said he was just thinking of promoting Romero, who was originally from San Diego. Romero was trying to adopt his Mexican girlfriend's son and move them to the United States someday, while Salcido, he said, was a single guy who was born in Tijuana to U.S. citizens and grew up in Bakersfield, Calif. He said Salcido loved martial arts and was training for an upcoming bout in Tijuana.

"Kevin Romero didn't even drink beer," Pelot said. "These guys weren't dealing drugs that's for sure. If Sergio was your friend, he'd give you the shirt off his back. Kevin was the same. He was a real family oriented guy who couldn't wait to get home and take a walk on his beach with his son and dogs."

Pelot said his employees had invited him to visit them in Tijuana but he was too afraid to cross the border because of the city's violence.

More than 34,000 people, including an increasing number of U.S. citizens, have been killed in Mexico's drug war, but shootings of people waiting in line to cross into the United States are extremely rare.

In the first six months of 2010, the latest State Department figures available, 49 Americans were victims of homicide in Mexico, up from 37 for the same period in 2009 and 19 in the first half of 2008.

The majority of the slayings happened in border cities such as Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, which have also been the hardest hit by drug violence. In some cases, the Americans apparently were in the company of Mexican friends, relatives or acquaintances who were the targets.

This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs / Éste es su cerebro. Éste es su cerebro en las drogas.

“Any questions? / ¿Hay preguntas?”

This information was edited from a report by Ángela Torres, published at frontera.info - URL: http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Policiaca/29012011/493735.aspx

A dismembered body was found in the vicinity of the Baja Malibu coastal tourist camp which is located in the Playas de Tijuana Delegation. The corpse had no legs or head, and the hands were mutilated.

At exactly 8:22 A.M., the grisly find was reported to the Radio Communications Center, which specified the location of a lifeless body, said the State Office of the Attorney General.

Upon arrival, officers immediately observed the body as it lay on a local road that leads to "Quinta del Cedro;" they also realized that (it) had no limbs or head.

The legs and arms were found near the body, but the head was not found. In addition, the body bore stab wounds to the upper thorax.

At the scene of crime, PGJE officials indicated that a machete and a knife were impounded. The body was taken to Medical Examiner by order of Attorney General, to perform an autopsy.
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TIJUANA, Baja California(PH)

Un cuerpo desmembrado fue encontrado en las inmediaciones del fraccionamiento Baja Malibú, de la delegación Playas de Tijuana; el cadáver no tenía piernas ni cabeza, y las manos estaban mutiladas.

En punto de las 8:22 horas se reportó el macabro hallazgo a la Central de Radio, donde especificaban la localización de un cuerpo sin vida, informó la Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado.

Al llegar los agentes visualizaron de manera inmediata el cuerpo, ya que estaba sobre la vía pública, en un camino vecinal que conduce a Urbi Quinta del Cedro, también se dieron cuenta que no tenía sus extremidades, incluyendo la cabeza.

Las piernas y brazos fueron localizados cerca del cuerpo, sin embargo la cabeza no fue encontrada; además el cuerpo presentaba heridas de arma punzocortante a la altura del tórax.

En la escena del crimen, la PGJE destacó que se embaló un machete y un cuchillo; el cuerpo fue trasladado al Servicio Médico Forense por orden del Ministerio Público, para que se le practique la necropsia de ley.

Publicada: 29/01/2011 17:36 Por: Ángela Torres