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# After 20 years, police seek justice in murder
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/after-20-years-police-seek-justice-in-murder/
- Published: 2004-02-05T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:44:01.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Suspect was free nearly two decades before being arrested*

A Santa Monica bar owner accused of killing one of his customers in 1984 will face a judge today after being on the lam for two decades.

Antonio Aranda Pedraza was charged with murder June 28, 1984, six days after Javier Gamboa Garcia was shot multiple times in front Jalisco Cafe on Olympic Boulevard near 18th Street. The cafe no longer exists, and neither did Pedraza — in the eyes of the law — until now.

Pedraza allegedly fled the scene and hadn’t been seen by authorities since. Police suspected he fled to Mexico after they found his car abandoned in Santa Monica. He’d also reportedly left his Los Angeles home with a large amount of money. But at some point, he returned to the United States and was finally arrested by Los Angeles police officers last July on drug charges. He allegedly sold narcotics out of a parking lot where he worked.

While Pedraza allegedly gave police a false name when he was arrested, his fingerprints revealed his true identity. Authorities then found he had an outstanding murder warrant against him.

Pedraza’s preliminary hearing was set for Wednesday at the Airport Courthouse, but his attorney, Scott Furstman, had a scheduling conflict and was in court in San Jose on another case. Matt Kookanim, another attorney representing Furstman, asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Katherine Mader to move the case to another day.

That didn’t sit well with Santa Monica Police Detective Lt. Ray Cooper, who was the lead investigator on the case. He and the prosecutor contested the rescheduling, saying they had gone to great lengths to be ready to state their case against Pedraza. They noted they’d flown two witnesses from the Midwest to LA to testify.

“We flew witnesses in from Michigan and Chicago at great public expense,” Lt. Cooper told the Daily Press. “It’s hard to convince people to put their lives on hold and we have an issue with (the defense attorney) deciding at the last minute that he had a calendar conflict.”

> “We flew witnesses in from Michigan and Chicago at great public expense.” — — LT. RAY COOPER Santa Monica Police Detective

Judge Mader instructed court personnel to call Furstman in San Jose and order him back to LA. The preliminary hearing will begin today at 8:30 a.m. The hearing allows the prosecution to lay out its case. Judge Mader will then determine if there’s enough evidence to proceed with a trial. Pedraza has pleaded not guilty, according to court documents.

Lt. Cooper said Garcia was shot 14 times, execution style. Three of the shots went to the back of the head. Pedraza apparently got into an altercation with Garcia and kicked him out of the bar for being overly intoxicated. Garcia was outside the bar when Pedraza allegedly came at him from the side of the building armed with a gun. Pedraza allegedly pulled a.38 caliber gun out and began shooting at Garcia.

Pedraza was 36 years old when the shooting occurred. On Wednesday, the aging 57-year-old appeared in court wearing a gray mustache and a blue jump suit issued by the county jail.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 5, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/020504.pdf?ref=smdp.com)