We rarely include stories on crimes committed by illegal immigrants. Most of the crimes are more than adequately covered by other blogs. However, this crime rocked the nation during the late spring and summer before 9/11. I chose to make an exception. At the heart of this story is the tale of diligent parents, incompetent police, a philandering congressman and ironically, a murdered intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in DC.
Almost 8 years later, an El Salvadorian man, Ingmar A. Guandique will be arrested for the murder of Chandra Levy. Guandique is already in the DC prison system for attacking 2 other joggers in the Rock Creek Park area where Chandra’s body was eventually found.
Who was Chandra Levy? The Chandra Levy case is a famous DC cold case that has gone unsolved since spring of 2001. This case not only has gone unsolved, to date, but was bungled about as badly as any case in DC. It also led to the defeat of US Congressman Gary Condit (D-CA).
Chandra Levy disappeared May 1, 200. Her parents who lived in Modesto, California spearheaded the efforts to search for their daughter when they called DC police saying they had not heard from their daughter in 6 days. The parents also informed DC police that their daughter was having an affair with the married congressman from California.
Congressman Condit became the center of media attention and was seen as uncooperative to the police. The DC police were seen as the Keystone cops by the media. It was the Levys who refused to accept excuses and stayed on the situation. Their tenacious efforts kept the case in the daily news until 9/11.
The remains of Chandra Levy were found by a man walking his dog and looking for turtles in a remote area near Rock Creek Parkway. The case has been listed as a cold case by DC and the FBI has stated that the case remains open.
Who is Guandique? According to the Washington Post, Who Killed Chandra Levy:The Predator in the Park (part 6 of a 12 part series, July 18, 2008):
Guandique (pronounced GWAN-dee-keh) had come from a hard-scrabble hamlet near the city of San Miguel in El Salvador. His father was kidnapped by guerrillas during the Salvadoran civil war, before Guandique’s birth in 1981, and later executed. The son grew up in an adobe house with a dirt floor, no running water and an open pit for cooking meals. The home was decorated with family photos and pictures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary taped to pink and white sheets of plastic that served as wallpaper.
strong>Guandique wanted a better life in America. A friend of the family lent him $5,000 to pay a “coyote” to smuggle him across the Texas border with more than 50 others. The seventh-grade dropout left home in January 2000, eventually swimming across the Rio Grande, crossing the border near Piedras Negras and arriving in Houston in March 2000. From there, he made his way to Washington to join his half-brother, Huber, and other family friends.
Guanduique’s life in Washington was fraught with violence. He punched his girlfriend in the face on several occasions and finally her mother threw him out. He had trouble holding down a job. He was arrested by DC Police on what was probably breaking and entering. He was finally arrested by US Park Police for 2 other attacks along Rock Creek Parkway and has been in prison for the attacks. He has been considered a person of interest in the Levy case for quite some time.
US Park Police apprehended and prosecuted Guandique for his attacks on the women joggers that sent him to prison. Somehow, the territorial nature of law enforcement in the DC area must have prevented exchange of information or cooperation between agencies. An inmate serving time with Guandique told investigators that Guandique had confessed to murdering Chandra Levy to him, even though he denied he knew her to Park police. He did admit to seeing her jogging and that she was attractive.
So 8 years later, a mystery has finally been solved. Had it not been for the diligence of Chandra’s parents, this case might have never been solved. Congressman Conduit’s political career was over. He faded from the news.
A warrant will be served in the very near future. And now Guandique will come to the forefront because of his illegal status, not because he robbed, stole, beat his little girlfriend, attacked 2 women joggers, murdered an intern, and ultimately caused the end of a political career. No, Guandique will be discussed and remembered for being an ‘illegal.’
Somehow, status seems immaterial and irrelevant at this point.
If the only thing convicting Guandique is a ‘jailhouse informant’, then I don’t know how anyone can say that the case is solved.
How many people here would agree to have their life hanging on the word of a ‘jailhouse informant’?
And the notion that police were incompetent is an assumption that is probably incorrect. Follow the money. It makes more sense to assume that something more sinister was afoot.
I am sure there is other information available. I just didn’t have it. Just trying to get the scoop on this one, Mackie. I am sure there will be plenty of corrections, additions and deletions by the time this one hits for real. This is a preliminary report. Who wants to pick up old news.
I read the entire Washington Post series and I’m convinced he did it. I guess that’s bad news for his defense team.
Dare I say it? Had he not been in this country, then Chandra Levy would still be alive. Beware what you wish for! Many BAD people walk across our borders who would not be given permission if screened as do legal immigrants. That may be the biggest reason for combatting illegal immigration. Everything else is secondary. We have enough home grown criminals, and it costs tons of money to keep these imported criminals in prison once we do catch them.
Nah, don’t say it. That is a what if. If he hadn’t been in this country, Chandra Levy Might still be alive. What if it were someone else? Furthermore it is a vast oversimplification of a very complex case. There were many unanswered questions about the good congressman, for example. And, he (G) hasn’t stood trial. Actually, I believe the authorities had it solved for years, but they didn’t have adequate evidence that would hold up in court.
SA, you can play the what if game over anything. What if (G) had entered the country legally. Does that eliminate any chance of him committing murder or attacking women? I don’t think so.
I contend his status is irrelevant in this case. It certainly wouldn’t have made them catch him any sooner. They already had him.
Keeping my mouth shut 🙂
The fact is that G killed her, and it is a fact that he couldn’t killed her while she was jogging in DC if he wasn’t in the country. Not a what if, but a matter of fact. How can you deny that? I’ve heard a lot of excuses to support illegal immigration, but the people in our prisons wouldn’t be there if they hadn’t entered our country in the first place. How on earth can that not be a factual statement? When investigating an accident there is always a cause, and the fact is that if X hadn’t happened the accident would have been avoided. This is common sense, not what if.
You make the example of what if G entered the country legally. That’s my point that legal immigration requires background checks. I’ll give you the slim chance that he never had a record before entering the country even if he did it legally, but the vast majority of existing criminals would be prevented from entering. Makes sense to me. Keep MS-13 out of PWC, and I doubt you’ll have to worry about being attacked by one of their members in PWC. Hello, doesn’t that make sense, Hello!
I don’t think background checks were all that thorough. Do you think his propensity towards violence was ever documented? I doubt it. I am not making an excuse for G. There is no excuse for what he did and I don’t care how hard of a life he had before he got to the United States.
Obviously, he if hadn’t entered our country, (legally or illegally) he would not have attacked 2 women nor would he have killed Chandra Levy. He would have killed other women somewhere else, I expect. (all of my remarks are based on him being found guilty, of course…trying to be American here. Innocent until proven guilty…I will pay lipservice)
If he hadn’t entered our country….he would have killed others where he was.
If he had entered legally….he would have done the same thing as if he entered illegally, in all probability.
Predictably, as I stated in the thread, the main element of this story has suddenly become ‘illegals’ rather than men who are violent towards women, incompetent police, law enforcement agencies who do not share information properly, elected officials cheating on their spouses, and parents who refuse to let those who do the above off hook. Were it not for the tenacity of Dr. and Mrs. Levy, this case might still be a cold case.
G’s status is just one tiny part in a huge debacle.
Jailhouse informant testimony should not be given any weight. I think most reasonable people can agree on this.
From my reading of the Washington Post article, which is really good, I recommend it, my feeling was that the police detectives were just overwhelmed by all the media attention surrounding the case. Politics got in the way.
I know that the guy is illegal, and he’s Hispanic too, I know, I know. But what I came away with was that law enforcement was just looking in the wrong places and not focusing on the right things. That’s why I worry when I hear people say “G was illegal, therefore to prevent future murders we should round up all the people who are illegal.”
We should look at violent crime as something we need our law enforcement to try to prevent. And by this I mean preventing THE ACTION of committing a violent crime. But if we take what Second Alamo is saying to it’s logical extension, then we are telling law enforcement to focus LESS on the crime itself, and MORE on who committed it. That logic says to law enforcement: look at who commits a crime, and focus on anyone who fits the same profile as the guy who committed said crime. That way, more crimes will be prevented.
But if you tell the police: “to prevent future murders, round up all the people who are illegal,” well then they’ll have to ask themselves “what do the illegal people look like?” And next thing you know you have the PWC Immigration Resolution and that racial profiling episode at the Baltimore 7-11.
It’s better to have them focus on preventing the next crime rather than cracking down on people who have the same profile as those who committed last crime.
M-H, I think I would have just said that if G had not been there at the time and place it wouldn’t have happened and be done with it. If he is guilty, there is no defense for that. He should not have been there but he was. Does that mean that every person here illegally will do it? No. So why argue over what might be facts.
[That’s why I worry when I hear people say “G was illegal, therefore to prevent future murders we should round up all the people who are illegal.”]
ShellyB, only someone like you would make so sweeping a generalization. Your whole post at 17:36 is attacking an argument nobody (except the little fat people whose voices you hear from time to time) is making. I would, though, like to hear your ideas on how the police could better stop the ACTION of committing violent crime while ignoring everything else around the situation. Oh, and the thing at the Baltimore 7-11 wasn’t racial profiling. At best, it was a mistake.
ShellyB, I believe that law enforcement is a balancing act…there simply is no way to prevent violent crime. The police can lessen some factors by doing such thing as warning people about potential problems, environmental factors such as lighting, more police in a particular area etc. but they cannot prevent violent crime everywhere. People make individual choices that our society allows and the police cannot and should not, direct their lives in such a manner. This is one part of the balancing act.
The second part of the balancing act is in contrast to what you wrote above…the police DO look at who commits violent crime and use that information to their advantage and direction of their resources. Those resouces and information have to be used in such a way as to not infringe on individual rights and freedoms, yet using them in such a way to protect the rest of society from those who prey on them.
There is no way to completely prevent the next violent crime…because crime happens by people making choices that our society allows..the victim can go where they like, when they like. The suspect has those freedoms too until the crime happens.
A PW County Resident, obviously if G weren’t in DC (or this country) Chandra would not have been murdered by him. I think status in this case is totally irrelevant. This case is so much bigger than that.
I was talking with friends at dinner tonight. We don’t even know that other people of interest are off the hook. There is always murder for hire.
The arrest warrant was supposed to be served today. It might take a few more days according to the news tonight.
Mackie, there is also DNA evidence I believe. The case does not rest on the words of a convict.
Mackie will question the validity of DNA, I’m guessing. I’m sure he’ll find some youtube clip to show how corrupt DNA labs are.
Most of the cases I have heard reported of high profile child murders/sexual assualt cases, if my recollection serves me correctly, were middle aged white men. Should we round up all middle aged white men in hopes of preventing heinous crimes against children? People commit crime, being in the country without proper documentation does not prove a propensity for committing violent crimes.
Speaking of awful crimes, what happened to the fence at the corner of Ashland and Lomond? It has 2 different shades of red paint slopped on the fence. There was grafitti on that fence that looked better than that incomplete paint job.
Someone told me that they saw HSM members out there doing that. I think they were lying. It must be gang activity. It is horrible. Anyone know the real story?
Last night on CNN, the spot that followed the Levy murder story was about an 11-year-old boy who shot and killed a woman eight months pregnant. The unborn child would have been his brother.
Not long ago, I used to lament such stories, of course for the human tragedy, but also, from a purely political standpoint, for the requisite demand for stricter gun control laws. Invariably some opportunistic politician in Richmond would point out that if this law or that law were in place, this horrible tragedy could have been prevented.
Now days, I don’t worry about that. Let me tell you why:
In April of 2007, the Virginia Tech massacre was … if not a dream come true … a golden opportunity for opponents of gun rights. Let’s face it. This was the biggest threat imaginable for Virginia advocates for the Second Amendment.
Just two months later, the immigration issue came along and fully eclipsed any threat to Second Amendment rights, thanks in no small part to Corey Stewart, Greg Letiecq, and John Stirrup. At the time, I saw through the political gamesmanship, but I will admit … a part of me welcomed it.
(As most of you know, in December 2007 I changed my mind completely about the efficacy of anti-immigration demagoguery as a Republican political strategy.)
But my point is that yesterday’s revelation that the Levy murder was committed by an undocumented Salvadorian man presents precisely the same opportunity for opponents of comprehensive immigration reform … exhibit A: Second Alamo … that the shooting of this pregnant woman presents for opponents of gun rights.
From the very same CNN broadcast, it would have been easy for an anti-immigrant/anti-gun politician to cherry pick two events, and use them to make the case for the ideology he or she possessed long before either event took place.
One day, both tactics will be equally ineffective and routinely dismissed.
Until then … long live Second Alamo.
All this intolerance and hate for this poor man. He has a family too, and children. Should they be penalized for one mistake that he made in a moment of passion? Passion probably brouyght about in part by mental illness and a poverty that most of you here will never experience or understand?
Amnesty now, I say.
If he had not raped and killed Chandra Levy, doubtless some middle aged white man (as Elena suggests) would have. Would that make you all happier?
There is only one HUMANE way forward. We need to take up a scholorship collection for his child (children?), to ensure that they have first dibs on living out the American Dream in a way that poor, tortured Ingmar never did. Given that Amnesty is probably not a viable political option, the best thing that we can do is to ensure that his children are given some type of ensured right or privilege that will give them a leg up. Please send contributions – at least $100 each please – to Elena and Alanna c/o this board. And if you’re white and liberal, please send double. There can be no more worthy cause.
Also, we need to start a petition on-line to give political asylum and/or permanent residency for all living relatives. It’s the only humane way forward.
Straightforward punishment should NEVER be an option. It just makes me feel all dirty. Let’s create a brave new world full of love, charity, and all things good.
WHWN,
I have been trying to make that exact point for some time.
Also, I read the original Post article concerning this case. I can’t wait to know what the new evidence is that took 8 years to uncover. Hopefully, it’s something physical and not a jailhouse informant.
Rick,
What are you thoughts on gun control and WHWN’s analogy?
Oh my gosh … Let’s just sing kumbayah and hope for the best. The US already tried amnesty once … It was a miserable failure that resulted in many more illegals coming to the US and hoping for amnesty.
If this guy turns out to be guilty, then there is no question that Levy’s death was due to the presence of a violent illegal on US soil.
I have seen numerous red herrings in previous comments, e.g. this crime is really about violence against women. But that argument obscures the real problem, which is that we import a host of other problems by tolerating illegal immigration. Violence is one, free emergency medical care is another. There is nothing that we can do to prevent violence against women in other countries, but we can reduce it in the US by keeping illegals out.
Elena, I am not sweating the issue of media coverage and slant, parallels to gun control, etc. I am more concerned with reality. But I will say this.
This will probably be a wakeup call for a few million older Americans. They probably thought that the police would have been on a drifter who was hanging out in the woods trying to rape women repeatedly as a suspect in such a high-profile case. They didn’t realize or wouldn’t want to think that because of the language barrier the guy would get a pass and we would all pretend this suspect wasn’t out there.
They’ll probably start to realize just from the story and its noteriety, regardless of any media slant, that there are two Americas. And that the underground one where people speak Spanish instead of English frequently escapes notice. Even while they are involved in millions of mortage frauds, even while hospitals are going bankrupt from servicing illegal immigrants, for too long people want to pretend we’re in the former world rather than taking a good, hard look at what world we’re actually in and what it is turning into and what effect it will possibly have on our country.
Somebackground on the man who killed Chandra Levy – who our government elites let in to work as a “rock cutter”, “carpenter”, or “gardener” depending on which of his stories you believe … not suspecting that one of their own interns would be endangered, usually it’s just other people and their families who get damaged.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/692716/posts
Rick, surely you are not unaware that plenty of other folks use the hospitals for free medical care, not just Spanish speakers. Surely you realize that other folks commit murder, robberies, etc, in DC?
If you attempt to turn this into a case about illegal immigration, you will just look foolish. Good Lord, Chandra Levy grew up in Modesto. You think there are no illegal immigrants there?
I fail to understand why you think this guy has gotten a pass.
Kelly, yea, it is about violence and murder. What’s your point. Do you think Americans don’t do violence and murder?
@Alanna
And I am trying out the new anti format.
I think this case serves as an example of how asinine the DC anti-firearm laws are.
If this woman had been jogging with a .38 on her hip, what fool would have messed with her?
Mackie, I hate to tell you this but if there more firearms in DC, chances are G would have been packing heat, not Chandra.
Lucky Duck, thanks for your informative answer to my question. Law enforcement is a fascinating field, with lots to balance and not enough appreciation.
WHWN, you said it! But then Rick came and did his thing after you’d already debunked him, LOL!
Alanna, I like the new format.
I don’t think this is a firearms issue either.
Did the various jurisdictions cooperate fully? Probably not. Did those in charge carry out orders as given? Probably not. The 100 cadets didn’t get off the road very far to do their grid search. Did the Levy parents have to jolt the DC cops and stay on the case? Probably. Did the fact that a freaking married congressman twice her age was having an affair with Chandra delay finding her or her killer? Yes. The media and law enforcement all honed in on this little detail. Pretty difficult to find a serial rapist/attacker/murderer when everyone is trying to hang something on a reprobate congressman.
No case this complex can be broken down into firearms and illegals.
If she had had a .38 on her hip, she would still be alive. It truly is that simple no matter how much denial kool-aid one drinks.
@Mackie
Maybe, maybe not. Having a gun strapped on your hip is no guarantee, There has to be a willingness to use the gun. Guns don’t solve everything. And before I consume too much kool aid, I am a gun owner.
@Moon-howler
Yes, it’s true that firearms are no guarantee that you won’t be assaulted, but I think they reduce the odds of being assaulted dramatically. Especially if they’re visible. A rapist would have to have a death wish, to assault a woman with a firearm.
I’m not arguing that everyone should walk around armed. Not at all. But I think people should have the option available to them should they feel a need to exercise it.
Going out for a night on the town with friends? probably best to leave the firearm at home. But a young, attractive female going for a jog deep in the woods all alone? this is where it makes good sense.
Ever try running for excercise with a gun strapped to your hip? Its not going to work. The other women that were attacked were both wearing SONY music players with earphones. She had one with her too. Obviously the suspect was looking for this fact when he picked/stalked his victims. A personal choice to use earphones..but be very aware of your surroundings. When you have earphones in, your awareness anywhere but right in front is almost nil.
Let me start out by thanking you for making this story a topic… now, Elena, you said:
“Most of the cases I have heard reported of high profile child murders/sexual assualt cases, if my recollection serves me correctly, were middle aged white men.”.
While that is probably a true statement your trying to apply it where it doesn’t belong. Murders/sexual assault cases by white middle age men is disgusting no matter who the perp is or how old they are. The fact of the matter with illegal immigrant crime is that in most cases it’s completely preventable. For example, take a look at the Asian honor student murdered in Montgomery county last year by an illegal immigrant gang member. That gang member was arrested on a weapons violation a few weeks before he murdered this innocent kid just riding a bus home. Had MC identified this scum as being here illegally the parents of this victim wouldn’t be morning a completely preventable murder. I personally think that they should sue MC for millions. Maybe then and only then will they take identifying the status of people they arrest more seriously.
I concur with your comment fully hello, but would add one thing to your last sentence: “Maybe then and only then will they take identifying the status of people they arrest more seriously” BEFORE someone dies or an innocent child’s life is destroyed by a violent criminal.
Kelly,
Welcome to anti. The analogy to gun control is actually quite relevant. An 11 year old boy is accused of killing his dads pregnant girlfriend with is “youth” shotgun. Is the gun or the person responsible for the crime. Had this child not owned a gun I guess this 26 year old mother of three would be alive and so would her baby. Do you see the argument now? Like the boy who killed the pregnant woman, HE is responsible for his actions. Like the man who killed Chandra Levery, his status is NOT responsible for killing her, HE is. I would suggest to you Kelly, that if you really want to catch the dangerous criminals, that is where you devote your limited resources.@kelly3406
Hello,
Do you remember the Dukasis add about Willy Horton? He was out on parole and killed someone, had he not been out on parole, he would not have been able to murder. How far back do we go? I will continue to say this, I, along with most others on anti, do not suggest that criminals go free. However, I would urge you to watch Chief Deanes speech to the Board about unintended consequences. His concern was that his police force had worked so hard to build relationships with the very people he needed to STOP gang violence and what the resolution would do is PREVENT people from coming forward and working with the police.
Great advice Lucky Duck! There are lots of things women should know when out alone to NOT become a target for violence.
I’m sorry Elena but I really don’t see how checking on someone’s immigration status when they are arrested and then detaining them if they are found to be here illegally would destroy police/immigrant relations. So are you saying that we shouldn’t check a criminals immigrant status?
Can you look the mother of the honor student murdered in the eye and say “sorry, your son would be alive today if Montgomery County checked his killer’s immigration status when he was arrested on weapons changes… however, that would destroy police/immigrant relations.”?
@Mackie
A good guard dog would help also.
Hello, Chief Deane was talking about the original Immigration Resolution, which said Police had to check anyone who might be recent immigrants to see if they immigrated legally. It stands to reason that this was going to make immigrants and minorities trust the police less.
As most people in law enforcement will tell you, it’s a bad situation when minorities don’t trust the police. They create their own system of justice a la Vito Corleone in the Godfather. No joke. Also, crimes go unreported. And witnesses don’t play ball.
Also it seems unfair that you would be forced to prove you are here legally under threat of arrest, just because of how you look. What if you were born in the USA but have a tan and forgot your license? And also, in the case of the guy who got nabbed at 7-11, you can even disappear for three days when you have a sick child in the hospital and a wife wondering if you abandoned her or what!
If you start telling law enforcement to use racially profiling as a standard for arresting people, it just leads to all sorts of trouble. The PWC government knew it. That’s why after they passed the law there was so much turmoil until they fixed it finally in April 2008.
Hello, and if we follow that logic someone could sue the US government a thousand times over since often ICE detainees are released.
I see nothing wrong with checking status post arrest. Is that not what we do here in PWC?
This entire discussion screams for immigration reform. Why should one jurisdiction do one thing and another do something else?
@Mackie
I agree with Mackie 100%….I think I’m going to faint. Mackie is right on the money here, though.
@Moon-howler
You need not clean up the .38’s poop, though.
I would have to agree with Kelley who said “The US already tried amnesty once … It was a miserable failure”. If you think amnesty or any thing of the sort will pass in the near future your off your rocker. It couldn’t get passed when the market was booming and people were saying that we even NEEDED illegal immigrants in the work force. With unemployment thru the roof and only getting worse the American people will not go for legalizing 12 to 20 more to join the workforce. Also, I think your going to see an even bigger back lash on the issue once construction companies working on construction projects, funded by the stimulus bill, get busted for using illegal labor. Can you imagine what Joe Schmoe is going to say when he is out of a job and sees stimulus money going to pay illegal labor?
I think amnesty needs to be defined before we all quarrel over it…err..sorry…debate. If you pay a fine, and jump through hoops, is that really amnesty? To me, amnesty is when you are suddenly told everything is ok and to come on in. I don’t think that was ever proposed.
Slwo, then let’s try pepper spray. It isn’t difficult to run with it strapped to you and you don’t have to clean up after it.
If we deported every illegal alien and made it impossible for them to come here and make a living, the recession would be over. There would be housing for everyone, crime rates would drop, health care costs would drop dramatically as the emergency rooms emptied out, education costs would plummet, unemployment would drop to less than 3% and traffic would return to the 1980’s. I’m tired of paying for the poor, huddled masses. The party is over! There are plenty of houses and our teenagers need to be working at Burger King to pay thier exhorbinent college tuition. Clean your own house, mow your own lawn and tile your own bathroom. The fact of the matter is, if an illegal alien kills in the U.S., that victim would still be alive if that illegal alien hadn’t been here. Joe Shmoe is already standing in line for jobs that illegals have. It’s a new age.
Hi Moon, you said “amnesty needs to be defined before we all quarrel over it” and suggested that paying a fine and jumping thru some hoops isn’t amnesty. Ill say it again, the same type of thing didn’t pass when the economy was booming and unemployment was at record lows. What makes you think it will pass now? Besides, I’m not sure many illegal immigrants would even care. Why would they pay a fine and jump thru hoops when they can just continue to reside in the country illegally with little to deter them?