
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 9, 1993                   TAG: 9305090102
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FAIRFAX                                LENGTH: Short

IT'S NO LIFE, CONVICTED KILLER DECIDES

A convicted killer sentenced to life in prison was mistakenly released from a Fairfax County jail after he somehow obtained his own papers, officials said.

The documents explained that Edwin U. Garcia, 32, had been convicted of murder in Arlington County and should not be released after an unrelated trial in Fairfax.

On April 23, Garcia was convicted in Fairfax General District Court on unrelated misdemeanor charges of assault and escape and sentenced to 35 days in jail. He was released the same day after it was determined he had already served at least 35 days.

The mistake was not discovered until April 30, when the state Department of Corrections called Fairfax to ask about Garcia's status.

Garcia's papers were later found outside the jail in a bag that held the prisoner's personal property when he first arrived there.

Meanwhile, the search continued for Garcia, who was sentenced in January to life in prison for the April 1992 slaying of his half brother, Jose Garcia.

by CNB