Murder charged in death of man hit by cruiser stolen by
woman trying to free boyfriend

July 31, 1999


MIAMI - A woman who stole a police car holding her arrested
boyfriend is facing murder charges in the delayed death of
a man whose car she crashed into two blocks away.

It took nearly two months for the wreck police say was caused 
by Mayca Gonzales, 18, to prove fatal.

"Just like that, she changed the life of a family," said Ceida 
Parra, whose husband Juan Carlos, a father of two, died Sunday.
"We lost a person who was anxious to live and liked to live."

Shortly before noon on June 1, police responded to reports of
shots being fired by three young men who turned out to be
shooting at a tree for target practice, illegal in the city.

Along with the men, police also found a stolen Ford Expedition,
some cocaine, a stolen firearm, heavy-duty bolt cutters, screwdrivers,
wire cutters and other burglary tools, investigators said.

Police arrested Ariel Lumus, 21, Christopher Cesar, 18, and Glian Cutilla, 
17, and placed them in separate patrol cars with the motors running because
it was a hot day, police later explained.

Lumus was handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser with the keys in the 
ignition, air conditioning on, and the driver's seat empty when Ms. Gonzales,
his girlfriend, jumped into the driver's seat and sped off, police said.
"It wasn't even a chase," said Lt. John Campbell. "It only went two blocks."

Ms. Gonzales rammed into the back of Parra's 1993 Saturn, police said. 
Gonzales and Lumus fled on foot but were quickly captured.

She was charged with grand theft auto, escape and fleeing. The others faced 
theft, drug and burglary charges.

Parra suffered skull damage, a blood clot in his leg and needed emergency
gallbladder surgery, as a result of the accident. He died July 25 after the
blood clot broke free.


Back


http://www.news-journalonline.com/1999/Jul/31/FLA1.htm