ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 9, 1996 TAG: 9611110004
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SERIES: A deal with a killer
July 30, 1987: In Mecklenburg County, N.C., Mark Garrett is shot and killed during a fight with Javier Cruz, who then disappears.
1989: Cruz, using the name Luis Florez, buys a dairy farm in Floyd County and begins farming. The IRS opens a file on him because of suspicious cash deposits in his bank accounts.
1990: Cruz opens a used-car dealership in Roanoke, again using the Florez name. The DEA begins watching him, suspecting the car lot is a front for distribution of cocaine from Colombia.
April 1991: Authorities discover that "Florez" is Cruz and arrest him in Miami on a murder warrant in connection with Garrett's death. They find $300,000 hidden in his car in Florida and another $37,000 in a car at his home in Salem. Cruz agrees to become an informant and spends the next 16 months working for the DEA while apparently serving time in and out of the Roanoke County Jail.
August 1992: Cruz pleads guilty to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter in Garrett's death and gets a three-year sentence. He is released after spending the following week in a North Carolina prison.
May 1995: Cruz's second wife opens the Temptations restaurant and nightclub on Virginia 419. Cruz runs the restaurant with her. Meanwhile, the DEA continues to work on what sources have described as a major drug investigation with national and international connections.
LENGTH: Short : 39 linesby CNB