Judge dismisses federal death penalty charges

DETROIT (AP) - A U.S. district judge has dropped a federal death penalty charge against a reputed gang member accused in five slayings, saying Michigan, not the United States, has jurisdiction.

The ruling short-circuits a prosecution that could have led to the first execution in the state in 150 years. The Michigan Constitution bans the death penalty.

"It saves him from the threat of the death penalty," said Harold Gurewitz, attorney for defendant Efraim Garcia.

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined immediate comment Wednesday.

"The appellate division is looking at the case right now," spokesperson Gina Vitrano said. She said it had 30 days in which to appeal.

Garcia, 31, is accused of being a member of the Cash Flow Posse, which the government links to five murders in Michigan and several attempted murders.

"The gang allegedly formed in 1988-89 to counteract high-pressure recruiting tactics of two nationally recognized street gangs, the Latin Counts and the Cobras," U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds wrote.

Garcia is one of eight alleged members of the gang indicted under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and the Violent Crimes and Aid of Racketeering Act.

The other defendants all pleaded guilty.

In December, U.S. Attorney Saul Green announced he would seek the death penalty against Garcia in the 1994 slaying of police informant Evan Ison.

But the judge ruled Wednesday that the Ison slaying was outside federal jurisdiction and instead should be handled by Michigan authorities.

"Even if the government proves that Garcia murdered Evan Ison to enhance the power and the authority of the Cash Flow Posse ... that murder is still in the end, a street crime committed by a thug as part of a local turf war," Edmunds wrote.

The judge based her ruling on the U.S. Supreme Court's 1995 decision striking down the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act. The high court said the law was an invalid attempt to extend Congress's power under the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.

"There was no basis in law for this to be brought in federal court, that in essence is what the judge has decided," Gurewitz said.

Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Dick Padzieski said his office would review the case to see if there was a basis for state charges.

Edmunds' threw out the two counts against Garcia under the Violent Crimes and Aid of Racketeering Act. She upheld the two counts under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

She rejected the defense claim that both acts were inherently unconstitutional. But the decision means Garcia faces up to life imprisonment, rather than death by lethal injection.

The indictment said the gang's activities were linked to interstate commerce because:

-Gang members traveled on Interstate 94 from Detroit to Port Huron to commit murders.

-One gun used by gang members was manufactured outside Michigan.

-The gang bought guns at the Gibraltar Trade Center, where non-Michigan residents frequently do business.

-Two gang members admitted discussing the case while traveling to Mexico.

The Supreme Court's 1995 decision requires that there be a "substantial" link to interstate commerce, the judge wrote. "In this case, the enterprise's connection to interstate commerce is weak."

DETROIT (AP) - A U.S. district judge has dropped a federal death penalty charge against a reputed gang member accused in five slayings, saying Michigan, not the United States, has jurisdiction.

The ruling short-circuits a prosecution that could have led to the first execution in the state in 150 years. The Michigan Constitution bans the death penalty.

"It saves him from the threat of the death penalty," said Harold Gurewitz, attorney for defendant Efraim Garcia.

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined immediate comment Wednesday.

"The appellate division is looking at the case right now," spokeswoman Gina Vitrano said. She said it had 30 days in which to appeal.