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Police Officer Shooting Suspect Still At Large

The suspected murderer of a Burbank police officer remained at large Tuesday, but his twin brother has been arrested on multiple charges including aiding and abetting his escape.     James B. Garcia, 19, and an accomplice, Erwin De Leon, 20, were arrested Sunday at 11 a.m. in North Hollywood. James Garcia is the brother of David A. Garcia, 19, who allegedly gunned down Burbank Police Officer Matthew Pavelka, 26, of Canyon Country, on Saturday.
    James Garcia and De Leon were arraigned on six charges each, including acting as accessories after the fact in the shooting death of Pavelka and the attempted murder of Officer Gregory Campbell, who was injured.
    They were also arraigned on charges of possessing a machine gun, silencer and assault weapons.
    Sgt. William Berry, spokesman for the Burbank Police Department, said the Garcia brothers and De Leon are affiliated with a street gang in the North Hollywood and Sun Valley areas.
    James Garcia and De Leon are being held in lieu of $600,000 bail each. If convicted, they could face up to six years and four months in state prison, Berry said.
    Since the shooting, the Burbank Police Department, which is running the investigation, has arrested 10 people on narcotics and weapons charges, but the search for David Garcia has been dry, Berry said.
    “We’re still working on a number of leads … just going down the list,” Burbank Police Sgt. Mike Keefe said. “As far as I know, nothing new has popped up yet.”
    David Garcia was one of two men who allegedly fired at Pavelka and Campbell after a routine traffic stop Saturday night.
    Pavelka and Campbell managed to kill David Garcia’s alleged accomplice, Ramon Aranda of Sun Valley, during the shootout. Pavelka died in surgery later; Campbell survived with a bullet wound to the neck; David Garcia escaped.
    Campbell stopped a sports utility vehicle, which had paper plates, in front of a Ramada Inn in the 2900 block of San Fernando Road in Burbank at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
    A 15-year veteran, Campbell called for backup after the driver failed to produce a driver’s license or registration. Pavelka, a 10-month rookie, arrived, and Campbell asked the driver to step out of the SUV.
    “(The gunmen) apparently came out of the vehicle firing,” Berry said on Sunday. “The officers were hit several times but still managed to kill one of the suspects.”
    Both officers were wearing bullet-proof vests, Berry said.
    David Garcia is the target of an ongoing multi-agency manhunt. Officers from Burbank, Glendale, Los Angeles, Pasadena and San Fernando, as well as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol, have participated in the search.
    On the night of the shooting, officers set up a perimeter and stopped traffic on Interstate 5 between Hollywood Way and Buena Vista Street for several hours as they scoured the area for David Garcia.
    Pavelka was the fifth Burbank law enforcement officer in history to have been killed in the line of duty, and the first in the Burbank Police Department’s 82-year history to be murdered.
    Funeral services will be held at Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills on Friday at 10 a.m. in the Independence Hall.
    
    Donations for Officer Pavelka can be sent to the Burbank Police Officers Association, P.O. Box 229, Burbank, CA 91502.

Police Officer Shooting Suspect Still At Large

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