...“The Enrique Camarena Case: A Forensic Nightmare” Explanation CRJ 311 Forensics Instructor: Paul Stein November 19, 2012 “The Enrique Camarena Case: A Forensic Nightmare” Explanation The purpose of this paper is to discuss what went wrong with the investigation of the kidnapping and murder of a DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) source and Enrique Camarena, a special agent of the DEA February 7, 1985. Crime scenes can be confounding for they are much like a puzzle in which the pieces have to be found then turned until they fit together making a puzzle a complete picture. Sometimes there are pieces that cannot be found but when enough pieces are put together it is easy to picture in ones brain what that piece of evidence contained. No crime is committed without leaving some kind of evidence behind which is why there are different criminalist trained in how to find and charged with the job of studding and analyzing evidence so that even the cleverest of criminals can be found and prosecuted. There were several things that complicated the case mainly that there was a month between the time the two agents died and when their bodies were found decomposing. This meant that the evidence needed had to begin with the job that the agents were assigned to so that a link could be found from those crimes that tied them in with the death of the agents. Time span proved to be difficult and finding the original crime scene (the area in which the crime was committed before the bodies were...
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...A Forensic Nightmare Shepherd Leach CRJ311 Dawn George March 25, 2013 The Enrique Camarena case was one of many mistakes on the part of the corrupt Mexican government. Evidence was improperly collected, scenes were contaminated and much evidence was lost or destroyed. The United States did what they could do and collected what they were able to collect to try and solve his murder and the murder of another agent. This paper will discuss the evidence that was collected, the steps that the investigators followed the many mistakes that were made and what was done well and what could have been done better. In the end the case was tried and the right people were convicted and the mystery solved. The case begins in February of 1985 with a man being shoved into the backseat of a small car from in front of a restaurant where Mr. Camarena was to meet his wife for lunch. This is also when the first of the mistakes in this case were made. A couple of well known drug traffickers were detained as suspects and then allowed to go, only to have it come out later that the Primer Comandante of the Mexican Federal Judicial Police was paid a six figure bribe for allowing the drug traffickers to go. The forensic evidence found in the case of Enrique Camarena was that of a small piece of burial sheet, a piece of rope, a portion of a pillowcase, lab reports, hair, fingerprint and soil samples and some fibers from a nylon rug or carpet. Most if not all the evidence was...
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...UNIVERSIDAD AUTNOMA DE NUEVO LEON FACULTAD DE CONTADURIA PUBLICA Y ADMINISTRACION Introduction to Law Research Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera was born in La Tuna, Badiraguato, Sinaloa, México on on April 4, is a former Mexican drug lord who headed the Sinaloa Cartel, a criminal organization named after the Mexican Pacific coast state of Sinaloa where it was formed. El Chapo was born into a poor rural family and lived six hours away from the closest city. Educated only to the 3rd grade and began selling marijuana with his father at a young age. At 15 he started selling it on his own and quickly made enough money to support his entire family. He built his mother a sprawling home in their rural hometown. She's a devout Catholic and "the only one who can change one of his decisions with a word." In 1993 he was arrested in Guatemala, but eight years later escaped from the maximum security prison in the Mexican state of Jalisco. In November 1995, he managed to win a transfer to the Puente Grande prison, near Guadalajara, where he remained as he faced trial for 10 different charges, including drug-trafficking and homicide. Then, on January 19, 2001, Guzmán managed to escape -- according to the Mexican government’s official record, by hiding in a dirty-laundry cart which guards eventually led to the gate of the penitentiary. But an ex-accomplice, Noé “El Gato” Hernández, has told journalists that El Chapo’s escape wasn’t nearly as daring as the Mexican Justice Department has made...
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...Organic versus Inorganic Jeremy Merritt CRJ 311 Forensics Instructor Janice Bella March 4, 2013 Organic versus Inorganic Growing up as a kid I was forced to watch the television shows my parents enjoyed. During that era murder mysteries were extremely popular. Shows like Jake and the Fatman, Colombo, Matlock, and Murder She Wrote just to name a few. None of those shows relied heavily on science per say, moreover, those shows were written with the most insignificant clue becoming the one piece of evidence that is the key to the whole case. Just as dated as those television shows, so is the investigative practice. Present day, almost all investigative crimes involve the collection of forensic evidence that is broken down into two categories: organic versus inorganic evidence. This paper will detail the differences between organic and inorganic evidence, explain the strengths and weaknesses of each, and breakdown the significance of either organic or inorganic evidence as it travels through the justice system from the crime scene to prosecution. The way evidence collected can be broken down into two categories; organic and inorganic. According to Saferstein (2011), “Organic substances contain carbon, commonly in combination with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine, phosphorus, or other elements. Inorganic substances encompass all other known chemicals substances. Each of these two broad groups has distinctive and characteristics properties (p. 123, Para 3). In laymen’s...
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...2000s. Origin Birth of all Mexican drug cartels is traced to former Mexican Judicial Federal Police agent Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, also known as “The Godfather”. He founded the Guadalajara Cartel in 1980. He started off by smuggling marijuana and opium into the United States and was the first Mexican drug chief to link up with Colombia’s cocaine cartels, which were run by Pablo Escobar. At the time Felix Gallardo was considered the lord of all Mexican drug smugglers and was in charge of all operations; there was just him, his people, and the politicians who sold him protection. In 1985 the Guadalajara Cartel suffered a major blow when the group’s co-founder Rafael Caro Quintero was captured and convicted for the murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena. It was then that “The Godfather” decided to divide the trade he controlled as it would be more efficient and less likely to be brought down by law enforcement. The Tijuana route would be left in the hands of the Arellano Felix brothers....
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...disrupted the status quo. Election gains by PAN Representatives disrupted long standing agreements between the cartels and government officials which led to the increased violence that exists today. This paper will explore the history of the relationship between the cartels and the PRI. The effect of the increased violence from the cartels inhibits the efforts of PAN party officials to establish a lasting democracy. Literature Review Research shows the three distinct stages in the development of a cohesive relationship between drug cartels and government in Mexico and identifies the political and economic conditions that have allowed the drug trade to thrive. Comparing Mexico with Columbia, another narcotics state, provides an additional case study on the subject matter and highlights actions utilized successfully. A review of the current political and military efforts to curtail corruption within the government provides a point of reference to facilitate an informed view of the current status. Research cannot predict the outcome of the battle for establishment of a lasting democracy, but seeks to suggest possible outcomes dependent on future elections and success of current political efforts. The following literature review traces the history of the drug trade from post revolutionary Mexico after the turn of...
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...Media History Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Mass media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.1.5 1.1.6 1.1.7 1.1.8 1.1.9 Issues with definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Forms of mass media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Professions involving mass media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Influence and sociology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ethical issues and criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 2 6 6 7 8 10 10 10 10 11 11 12 12 12 12 16 16 17 17 17 17 17 17 18 19 20 21 21 21 1.1.10 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.11 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.12 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1.13 External links . . . . . . . . ....
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