2008 Woodie Awards
Gang member suspected of fatally shooting deputy
Melanie Dabovich
Issue date: 3/23/06 Section: News
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The Associated Press
Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White said Wednesday a man sought in the fatal shooting of a deputy would be found even if it meant searching the entire country.
Deputy James McGrane, 38, who had been with the sheriff's department since December 2002, was fatally shot early Wednesday after he stopped a pickup truck in this small community east of Albuquerque.
"The pain of his loss is absolutely immeasurable," White said in a news conference, his voice cracking at times and pausing occasionally to regain his composure.
Deputies were seeking gang member Michael Paul Astorga, 29, for questioning in the killing, White said.
"We consider Astorga to be armed and extremely dangerous, and we caution people not to approach him but to call 911 immediately," White said.
McGrane pulled over the truck about 12:45 a.m. Wednesday on N.M. 337 in Tijeras, a mountain town 16 miles east of Albuquerque, White said. A few minutes later, nearby residents heard two shots, he said.
"They looked outside and saw a light-colored pickup truck driving away and the deputy lying in the street" near the front of his patrol car, White said.
"Last night was a reminder that there's not a damn thing about this job that is routine," the sheriff said.
He would not release details of the investigation or the caliber of gun used in the shooting. He said that an hour before the mid-afternoon news conference, deputies located the truck Astorga was believed to have been driving, but he would not say where.
Investigators from numerous law enforcement agencies were helping in the manhunt. White said they also were investigating the possibility another person was in the truck at the time of the killing.
"Our phone has not stopped ringing and we will not rule out any tips we're receiving," White said.
Astorga has a "very violent past" and is on the run, the sheriff said.
An arrest warrant was issued last November for Astorga in the shooting death of another man in Albuquerque. Candido Martinez, 27, was shot in the head Nov. 5 after authorities said he and Astorga had argued outside a home.
McGrane, of Albuquerque, spent ten years with the U.S. Postal Service before joining the sheriff's department. In 1992, he worked six months for the state police.
He is survived by his wife and his parents.
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