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Blue Grit Podcast: The Voice of Texas Law Enforcement
2024: Ranked #1 Law Podcast
Host: Tyler Owen and Clint McNear discussing topics, issues, and stories within the law enforcement community. TMPA is the voice of Texas Law Enforcement, focused on protecting those who serve. Since 1950, we have been defending the rights and interests of Texas Peace Officers by providing the best legal assistance in the country, effective lobbying at state and local levels, affordable training, and exemplary member support. As the largest law enforcement association in Texas, TMPA is proud to represent 33,000 local, county and state law enforcement officers.
Blue Grit Podcast: The Voice of Texas Law Enforcement
#099- "A Mother’s Silence" with Garrett Miller
In this gripping episode of the Blue Grit Podcast, we sit down with Garrett Miller, an Austin Police Officer whose journey into law enforcement is nothing short of extraordinary. Garrett’s story is one of resilience, redemption, and a relentless pursuit of justice.
As the son of a cold case homicide victim, Garrett faced unimaginable tragedy when his mother was murdered. Years later, he played a pivotal role in assisting the Phoenix Police Department with the extradition of her killer, bringing long-awaited closure to a decades-old case. But Garrett’s road to becoming an officer wasn’t easy—his youth was marked by struggles, including a juvenile record that could have derailed his future.
Instead of letting adversity define him, Garrett used it as fuel. He turned his pain into purpose, choosing to serve and protect as a police officer, ensuring that others don’t endure what he did. His journey from personal loss to professional triumph is a testament to the power of perseverance and the calling of the badge.
email us at- bluegrit@tmpa.org
I find out how my mom was murdered, what led up to it and everything else.
Speaker 1:We knew who did it.
Speaker 2:We just didn't have the name of the person and then I find out that the guy had fled to Mexico and the case went cold and it was never solved. It's a shitty feeling like my mom's murdered. No one's being held accountable welcome back.
Speaker 3:Viewers, watchers, listeners I'm your host. Tyler owen got a special co-host today mike gomez, longtime tmpa employee and also field services supervisor. Uh, been kind of all over the place with tmpa fortunately, yeah, a little bit, a bit here and there.
Speaker 1:um, let's just say I know the state as well and a lot of us have probably been to some cities people have never even heard of. Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 3:So for those that don't know, our field services division, our field reps, they're divided in east and west side. East side, our typical co-host, clint McNair, is the supervisor for those guys, which includes Tony Reich, leighton Guennari, robbie Campbell and those people. And Mike supervises the west side, which is I don't think you had much gray hair and you don't have that many now, but he supervises people like JP Rodriguez, joey Sepulveda, david Karlewicz, tim Trapp. You've got a good crew.
Speaker 1:I've got a good crew. The problem there is they're not causing gray hair.
Speaker 3:I'm losing hair now.
Speaker 1:I don't know if that's any worse than the white hair, but I'm losing hair now, what's going on in your region right now?
Speaker 3:We've got some issues going on with Valkonis Heights. You guys are dealing with the valley. What's going on?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's mostly the mayor down in.
Speaker 1:V and about Coney Heights. He just has no business being a mayor at the end of the day. That's what it is. You know we've got some contract negotiations coming up in Lubbock. Excited to see how that goes along because we have some pretty positive feedback from the city manager there. Good, so I'm looking forward to seeing that prosper and just getting to something really well for Lubbock. It's better when officers can see on paper where they're going to be at in two or three years. That helps with the retention and we think it's going to be a good thing for Lubbock.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, and also February 23rd, I think to the 29th. I may have the dates wrong on that, but you also supervised Tim Travis, who's heavily involved with the Motorcycle Capital of Texas Motorcycle Rally there in Round Rock. Huge success, the benefits, tmpa Charities and Step Into Success, which is Round Rock POA. But man, it's going to be a big event and we're going to be out there hanging out with those guys. But you've got that going on in addition to all the other stuff that the Westside guys are doing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's going to be a great event. Tim and David did a really good job putting that together with Round Rock PD. I will tell you, round Rock Police Department really did a lot of the work. They've taken a lot of the brunt of it. We just kind of like co-partners, just trying to help out as much as we can. This will be the second year that we're involved in it. The participants are going to be just as many as they were last year, if not more, and we are doing a big meal on Saturday for the ceremony, which I'm excited about, because we'll be unveiling our new barbecue smoker. That's going to be great, man. I'm looking forward to that.
Speaker 3:It's going to be it. Before we kick off, I do want to send some thoughts and prayers. Uh, one of our field reps, david kerlewicz, is going to be out of pocket for a couple weeks having some, uh, medical procedures done. So our thoughts and prayers are with him and, uh, hopefully he can return to work soon, not going to affect the services that tmp members have, but, uh, you may see some different faces in your region if you need to reach out to us. So that's what's going on here at TMPA and we're getting geared up here later on today Also going to have a conference or a meeting about our conference coming up in the next summer. So, man, we're just blown and going. But Mike has got a guest here today that's got a pretty impactful story. That's now an officer with APD and we wanted to kind of bring him on and talk about it. So, mike, why don't you intro your guest.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, first of all, you know small world. You know we actually got in contact with each other through my son and they actually went to school together that's cool Out in Kerrville. And he called me a while back and said Dad, this is a really cool story, this is a really really cool guy. It's probably something you guys need to hear, probably something the law enforcement community needs to hear, and we think that you have the right voice for it. You know coming on with this and how the podcast has been going, so you know we decided to bring him on and I just want you, garrett, I want you to go ahead and just introduce yourself and basically where you're at right now in your life.
Speaker 2:Cool, I'm Garrett Miller. I'm currently 28 years old. I've been in law enforcement for five years. I work for the Austin Police Department. I went through the academy back in 2019. My five-year anniversary date was actually about a week ago now.
Speaker 3:Congratulations.
Speaker 2:Appreciate that.
Speaker 3:Surviving Austin for five years after the defund incident. Congratulations on that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my, you know, once I got on I didn't think my first year of policing would go the way it did, with COVID riots and everything else. I had no idea what I was uh getting into when I signed up for, uh, the austin police department, but I'm happy to be here and I've had a. I've had a blast being here. Um, I did four years patrol um worked some pretty rough areas uh within austin um. During that I was very proactive, which helped me. Uh I'm on a specialized unit within our organized crime division now. That's cool man. Yeah, I'm with our highway interdiction team so we look for large amounts of dope and cash and human smuggling going up and down I-35 because it's pretty rampant.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, Well, before you came to APD, you know you came from Kerrville, Manziel Town, as we just talked off air. Talk about how kind of uh and it's it impacts the story as well, but talk about how you got in the law enforcement, how you transitioned from curville to austin and then how you actually ended up in curville.
Speaker 2:Uh, and talk about that yeah, so, uh, my story goes. My story kind of starts when, um, obviously when I was a kid or a little baby. I'm one of six known children to my mom. I have three full siblings and two half siblings. I was born in Las Vegas, nevada, and when I was born I was a drug baby. I tested positive for several different narcotics, as well did my younger sister and my brothers. So at that time my mom and my dad they were heavily into the use of drugs. Um, and once we were born me and my sister were born at least we were taken up by the state and put into a foster home in, uh in Nevada. Um, while in this foster home, my parents' rights were stripped by the state, so they had to go through several different kind of like a checklist. They had to prove that they were fit to be parents again.
Speaker 2:While doing so, my mom just she had an addiction. She kind of beat it. I don't fault her for that. Addiction sucks. Her addiction got the best of her.
Speaker 2:She went to she was with a friend one night. They had the itch. They wanted to scratch that itch. Um, her friend said hey, I know a house, let's go to this house. Um, they go to this house. A drug deal is proposed. Um, the payment was not received or liked or agreed upon.
Speaker 2:So the house they went to that guy ended up shooting my mom in the face with a shotgun, point blank. He ends up fleeing the woman that my mom went with. She ends up calling the police. This happened in Phoenix, arizona, so I skip around a little bit Sometimes I forget, but this incident happened in Phoenix, arizona, and Phoenix police get there. They do an awesome job, like they talk to everybody. It was kind of like a house in the front and then there's like a shack in the back. Two different kind of living arrangements talked to, um, anybody on scene. They encountera dude who was seen in an alley running. They talked to the witness. I was there with my mom. Um, that guy ends up fleeing the country. Um, he flees to mexico and he's pretty much never to be seen again.
Speaker 1:Um, how old how old were you when this happened?
Speaker 2:So I was. I was two years old when it happened. My sister was one, um, my two older brothers, um, so I have, like I said, I got two half siblings. They were kind of I think they were given up at birth for adoption Um, and then my two oldest brothers. They were like 11 and eight or somewhere around there. I believe I always forget how old they are, but they were like 11 and 8 or somewhere around there, I believe. I always forget how old they are, but they were about 11 and 8. So the way it impacted them obviously is going to be different.
Speaker 2:The way it impacted me, because I was two years old, I I don't understand things at that age, obviously, um, but when that happened, me and, uh, my three full siblings, we ended up going to another foster home. Um, while in, I believe, while we were in that foster home, um, it was not a good time like once. In that foster home, I was physically abused. I, you know, I had to sleep in a closet on a floor. All All I had was a blanket, um, I was forced fed things like chicken bones and stuff like that, and, um, at one point I fell out a window and got bit by a dog in my face. Um, so my, my foster time was not getting it on.
Speaker 2:It's due to being born a a drug baby and then being in a foster home where I endured these traumatic events. It delayed my like, mental and intellectual development. So at one point, according to my oldest brother, like I didn't talk for two years, like me being able to talk like it was delayed significantly. And then that also comes up. So, after I do the stint in the foster homes, my grandparents on my dad's side, they live in Kerrville, they're retired, they didn't have to do anything. They had their kids. It's time for them to enjoy retirement. Well, they decided, hey, we're going to take the four on board. Then we ended up moving from that foster home. I believe that foster home was in Arizona at that time. We ended up moving out to Kerrville, texas. Were all of y'all together during the foster home time.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So they wanted to separate us, but I forget who. I think it was my grandparents. They were pretty heavily involved as we were already in the foster home. So the state wanted to separate us and send us all to different foster homes. And my grandma said I don't think that's a good idea. I think they need to stay together. So ultimately we stayed together in the foster home until we were adopted by them and then we moved out to Kerrville, texas, where growing up with old school grandparents was not fun and not easy.
Speaker 2:And when I say old school, like punishment, like grabbing whatever an arm's length to punish you, like you're getting spanked. It wasn't, you know. I'm taking your electronics away and you're going to your room for 10 minutes like it wasn't that time. So once I get there, you know I start school up and a lot of this stuff that I speak on I found out later on, when I was like in high school, because I had to find out on my own. A lot of this I had to find out through court documents. I wasn't supposed to find, um. So a lot of this that I speak on is me reading like court documents and understanding kind of where where stuff happened.
Speaker 2:But when I started elementary school in Kerrville I don't know if they do it anymore, but there's kindergarten and then there's first grade. Typically you go kinder to first, but if a teacher thinks you have, like, maybe some learning disabilities or there's some type of delay there and you're not ready for first grade, they call it transitional first. So it's in between kinder and first grade. So I went to transitional first, or T1 as they called it. Due to my kindergarten teacher thinking I had like an, they thought I was a like a special needs kid, maybe autism or yeah. So I I had like a behavioral plan, I had like a learning plan. So I was essentially kind of like a sped kid and in kindergarten I was classified as such because of my intellectual uh like delays.
Speaker 2:Um, so with that, with that, go to T1 elementary school. It is what it is. One thing I remember throughout elementary school was cops being at my house constantly. Cps being at my house constantly, at your grandparents. Yeah, like I said, they were old school so they believed in physical punishment. Like I said, they were old school so they believed in physical punishment. And at that time in my mind, I, I, me or my siblings were getting like physically punished well within their rights to have done so, but we're like what the hell, man, like you can't do.
Speaker 1:You can't do that. You wanted us, but now you're punishing us. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we, you know, or we'd go to school and we'd have like a bruise or something, and you know, teachers, they, they have that, they have to you know report certain things right.
Speaker 2:So then, like cps would come to our house we'd have open uh investigations or the cops would come to our house because at that time my oldest brothers, they were teenagers, they were rebellious, they, you know, we all went through the traumatic event of losing our mom, but they were old enough to understand it at that time and it was they were old enough to where it affected them a lot differently than it affected me and my sister. So at that time we, you know, growing up it was super tough like, and I I looked up to my brothers at that time and they weren't the greatest role models. Um, my oldest brother dropped out of high school in, I think, ninth or tenth grade. He never finished school. My second older brother, he ends up going to like TDCJ for juveniles at like the age of like 17 for like a burglary of a business or something like that, and he ends up having to do school out there and essentially he went to like a military, military style bootcamp where he had to finish out school. Um, so I didn't have the greatest role models in them. You know, a lot of people look to their siblings or their parents as a role models and they kind of adapt and model their behavior and stuff after them.
Speaker 2:Well, as I got older, I remember I was a clown. I still am a clown. I'll be the first to admit it. I'm a clown. I I think I'm the. You know, I'm the class clown. I like to make jokes. I like to make people laugh. It's you know, it's what I like to do. I find joy in it.
Speaker 2:Um, but in school I was. I had no respect for authority. I was always getting in trouble. And I remember in sixth grade, um, one of the teachers I had we were in science class she ends up sending me to the hallway cause I made some inappropriate joke out loud, and then she comes out in the hallway. She had my older brothers too. So, like, she comes out in the hallway and I remember her saying I had your brothers, I know your story. This is not acceptable. I know what you guys went through, know your story. This is not acceptable. I know what you guys went through and to me I was kind of like you don't know me. Like what does that even mean you know my story? Because at that time I didn't even know my story. I didn't know what went on. Um, so we fast forward to high school. Brothers are out.
Speaker 2:Um, my, my freshman year of high school, man I I was, like I said, a clown. I didn't try very hard. I played football. Um, that was probably the most structure, structural thing I did was play sports. But I didn't have any role models still and I was still a clown. Um, I didn't make good grades. I remember I played football and baseball. I didn't make good grades. I remember I played football and baseball. I didn't make good grades. I remember come baseball season I end up failing so I can't play on the team During your interaction there at Kerrville.
Speaker 3:Kerrville now has a phenomenal police department. Their hiring in the past has been questionable. Hint hint the guy next to you, but was there anybody at Kerrville PD or even at the county, anybody that was kind of influential on, on having that relationship?
Speaker 2:uh, from from the law enforcement side, so I remember specifically one day in general I I forget what it was, but me and my grandma get into a some type of argument and it was easy for her she would just call the cops. Like I'm not dealing with this today, I'm calling the cops and we lived in county so it was always the SO that came out. So I can't remember his name, but he came out. I'm talking to him and I remember him saying over the radio no, I don't need backup, he's a fat kid, he's not going to run.
Speaker 2:And I remember thinking like at that time I didn't realize he was talking about me. And I remember thinking like at that time I didn't realize he was talking about me, yeah, and I was thinking and then afterwards I was like that dude really just said he's a fatty, he's not going to run from me, I'm good. And I remember I was kind of like all right, dude, cool, like ACAB.
Speaker 1:You know, Like cool.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. But once I got into high school, one of my best friends I had, uh, michael lubano. His dad was, uh, his dad albert lubano. He was at the sheriff's office. That man's still there. He's got like 40 years in law enforcement. He just can't step away.
Speaker 2:And I remember me and michael got close in eighth grade, um, and then we go into high school and we start, we get closer and he would have he would always have the coolest parties, like his parents would have let let all his friends come over first birthday. We would go like to the football stadium and we'd played like hide and seek at like 10 PM. Then we'd go home and like play video games all night and his parents were chill about it. But I remember his dad was like if and I, you know I had a potty mouth too and I still do but his dad was like Garrett's not invited, if he can't act right, because him being at the SO, he knew how many times the cops would come to my house. He knew, kind of, I was a troublemaker, a troublemaker. So he would always say, if garrett can't act right, if he's going to be loud and cuss and just be crazy. Yeah, if he's going to be a nuisance, he's not allowed to come to your party. And that was like I ended up being able to go.
Speaker 2:And then my freshman not my freshman my sophomore year is kind of when I turned everything around and and I'll talk to Albert every now and then, especially when I graduated the academy Albert will say I had my doubts about you, but you proved me wrong. That's cool, yeah. So he, and hearing stories of him in his heyday, like his prime being a sheriff officer in Kerrville and all the cool stuff he did I said, man, that's yeah, it's freaking awesome well, it sounds like you were just a standard, uh, adolescent.
Speaker 3:I mean, it sounds like you just had the stereotypical, which is probably and we're going to get at that later on, later on in the show but, um, so you graduate Kerrville after high school and then go on to pursue APD, so so, for whatever reason, I always thought I wanted to come to Austin.
Speaker 2:I said Austin's where I want to go to do something. Ever since I was a kid the idea of being a cop was in my mind because I watched cops as a kid and I thought that was so cool. And then growing up as a teenager I had to arrest and so getting into law enforcement was super difficult. But growing up in Kerrville we had the San Antonio news, so I didn't get Austin news. I didn't know much about Austin other than my older brothers lived there, and then San Antonio news it was. I knew I wanted to be a cop. Well, it was, I think, detective Marconi and his partner when they were ambushed outside the courthouse, I believe when they were writing a report and Marconi ends up dying and I said, nah, forget Austin, I'm going to go to San Antonio, they're going through it, and I always wanted action. I didn't know nothing about Austin. I wanted action.
Speaker 2:I didn't know nothing about Austin, I wanted action. I saw the San Antonio news. I'm like they're busy, they have the action. That's what I want. So I applied to San Antonio police department and I think 2018 ish, um, I go through the physical fitness test, I do the background and the kind of like the oral assessment. Well, my background investigator calls me in.
Speaker 2:I go up there to do my background investigation with him and he's like hey man, you have this criminal record. And I was like yes, I disclosed that. Yes, and he was like we can't take you. And I was like what do you mean? He's like can't take you? And I was like can you explain you? And I was like what do you mean? He's like can't take you? And I was like can you explain? Like why? He's like well, this happened when you were 16 and this one happened when you were 17. 17, you're adult in the state of texas and we can't take you for that offense. You're completely barred. And I said, no, these two incidents happened when I was 15 and when I was 16. And he argued with me and said, no, you were 16 and 17. I said, okay, cool, well, go home.
Speaker 2:I feel defeated. I'm like whatever, maybe maybe it'll never happen. I get a letter in the mail like a week later from whoever at the like city council office or whatever. It's notarized, and it saidrett miller are barred from holding any type of position in local government in the city of san antonio, in the county of bear, county for life. And I said I kind of figured, I kind of figured that, but I didn't need a notarized letter saying hey, thanks, but no thanks. Nice, try, don't try again.
Speaker 2:So at that point I was like super defeated and I was like man, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I want to be to be a cop. Well, I said we'll give Austin another shot. You know, I call up a recruiter. I said, hey, this is my issue. I have this criminal background from when I was a juvenile. I'm very open about it and I want to know if I'm going to be wasting my time putting in an application. He looked, he ran it up the chain, he talked to T Cole, the administrators over at T Cole, and they're like, no, he's fine, he should be good. I said cool.
Speaker 3:Are you sure?
Speaker 2:Yeah, cause I got a certified letter saying yeah, I got a certified letter saying kick rocks and I put in for Austin. I was very serious about it. My background investigator said hey, you have one of the lengthier like we need to be more in-depth than yours, but you got all your stuff in before anybody else. We're going to put you to the front of the stack and we're going to get yours done first. I said cool, go through the process and go through the academy, end up graduating.
Speaker 3:Now here I am thinking, you know, seven years ago man, that's badass, because think about it, had you, had you taken that letter or had, you can continue to feel defeated and said you know what fuck law enforcement I don't even want to try. Who knows where you would have ended up with the background that you had, but how shitty is that for them to do that. But you kept with it, and you kept with it because you wanted to make a difference. So kudos to you for doing that.
Speaker 1:Thank you, um you know just real quick on the on the background stuff, you know we tell, you know we have members call all the time saying, hey, I've got this on yeah. This wasn't really the case, or after I left, they put something in my personnel file. It's not true. How do I get it out?
Speaker 1:Well, you can't get it out, unfortunately. Yeah, it's their opinion. Yep, so we always stress that if you want to go work somewhere that is not going to have a background investigator to take the time to go into the details of the background and find out the truth, do you really want to go work there? No, you don't. Yeah, you know. And once a member or an officer hears that kind of think about well, do I really want to work there? No, or down the line, I want to take somebody who will accept me for who I am and know that I acknowledge my mistakes and I'm moving forward, you know. Just something to think about, because it happens a lot.
Speaker 3:Well, and for those out there that are listening or watching, that are street-level, line-level employees or cops on the streets, I want you to hear what he just said, what Garrett just said and talk about. He was an adolescent, a lost kid for the most part, and the shitty part about the deputy talking crap about you, man, you've got an opportunity sometimes when you deal with these juveniles. This is the future of our nation, that's also the future of our profession and you never know. We don't have cops the show. Right. That's probably the number one, I would say the number two reason. It's either a law enforcement influence, meaning that somebody's come, come in contact with a cop that's been badass to them Aaron Slater, prime example, me good example, john Vardaman with RVPD or then you've got cops a TV show.
Speaker 3:That's our generation. I'm 40 years old, you're 28, and it still has that lasting impression. We don't have that now. And so for these men and women listening to this podcast, they need to understand that the way you treat people, men and women listening to this podcast, they need to understand that the way you treat people, the way you talk to people, it matters and you, potentially, are recruiting the next generation of law enforcement officers. So kudos to you for sticking with it. So you go through APD's Academy. You're now an Austin cop. You still got this unsolved murder. You didn't mention that earlier, but when your mom was murdered the guy fled and it wasn't technically a stamp put on it. So talk about what got your interest, uh, with your mom and her unsolved homicide there in phoenix.
Speaker 2:Now that you're a badge wearing, gun toting cop in austin texas so, like I said, a lot of the stuff, um, I speak on, I read about, right. So my grandparents were old school and they they were the type that kept every document that had any type of information on it and they kept it in a room that was locked and it might as well had a sign on it that said do not enter this room. Well, I would go in there and I would run this through, naturally, the boxes, yeah, um, and then I would read about and I'm like, damn, that really happened, like that sucks, like my life sucks. Well, I find out, like how my mom was murdered, what led up to it and everything else, um, and then I find out that the guy had fled to mexico and it the the case went cold and it was never solved and I was kind of like it's a shitty feeling like my mom's murdered, no one's being held accountable, like, did it get put on the back burner? Did? Is it like the show?
Speaker 2:You know cold case files back in the day, like they go into a. They're a giant room and it's just a box with the file and all the stuff they have in it the report and everything else, and it sits on a shelf. I'm like am I the report and everything else? And it sits on a shelf. I'm like am I? Is my mom on a shelf, like what's happening with it? Well, out of nowhere, in 2017 it was actually january 2017 I see a post by the phoenix police department. Um, it said cold case. Um, if you have it, and it was like if you have any information, like, call this, tips and it. It had the breakdown, they had a guy identified. And then when I saw that, I was like wow, okay, awesome, like maybe somebody knows and was it that guy?
Speaker 2:yeah. So you know, as policing evolves, technology evolves, evolves. I can't say what technology they use to um identify him, but essentially what had happened was the bang-up job that phoenix pd and their detectives did, and then the detectives that took over the case, and then the cold case detectives that took over the case. They did an amazing job. Um, I can't give them enough kudos. Um, they the guy.
Speaker 2:When he fled, he ended up going to california under another alias and he had a driver's license with that alias. He ends up getting a parking ticket. Well, they find that. And then he ends up getting deported to mexico. Well, he comes back and he gets deported several times back to mexico and on the third time they pretty much said hey, if you come back you're facing 15 years not knowing that this guy is a murder suspect because he had if you look at it, he's got like 40 different aliases. It's it's kind of crazy how many different names and like variations of the same name he used. Well, that detective ends up doing a bunch of work and then they find out he's in California and they go to set up on his house and the marshals go to set up on the house in California to find out that the last time he was deported was two days prior to them setting up on his house in California.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:So he gets deported back to mexico and 28, 2018, 2019, ish trump is in office and there's a bunch of cases that would make like national news of like people, just like somebody's cold case, somebody's been murdered, this guy has fled the country and they're getting their justice. And then a lot of it, it was like them just sending a simple email to, like the white house and I was like, why not me? Like let's just, let's throw my line out there and see what bites. Um, I go out, I send an email to the white house and then, if, like saying hey, my mom was murdered, it's a cold case, nothing has happened. The guy's in Mexico, what can we do to get him back? We want our justice.
Speaker 2:Well, I get a letter from the Department of Justice, which I thought was so cool. I still have that letter. I get it in the mail and it says, hey, we're sorry to hear about your mom. This is agent or whoever, whatever their titles are. So and so, please, um, contact us and give us information. And I was like, all right, cool, well, there was no contact info. I just googled department of justice phone number and somehow I found it and I call and I said, hey, this guy called me, or this guy sent me a letter in the mail with no follow-up, like um, stuff, I I'd like to talk to him. He calls me back and he's like we'll, we'll see what we can do, not like I can't promise you anything. I said, all right, cool. Well, after talking with the detective on my mom's case, he said, yeah, I'm just sitting in my cubicle and one day the the the phone rings and it says white house and I was like and he's like what the fuck?
Speaker 2:And he's like I thought my friend was playing a joke on me, joke on me. So he said he answered the phone and the guy was like, hey, this is so-and-so with the department of justice over at the white house. And he says, oh good, one like who is this? And he's like, hey, so are you familiar with the sarah carr case? And that's my mom's name, is sarah carr? And he's like, oh shit, my bad dude. Like I thought someone was playing a prank on me. Yes, I'm the detective. They end up seeing what they can do. Department of Justice says they can't do anything.
Speaker 2:The biggest issue was we were past the statute of limitation for extradition. We were, I think, for murder. It's 18 years. We were at, I think, 19 years at this point, so a year past, you can file for an extension, but it's hard.
Speaker 2:Well, I talked to my buddy who's uh, who's affiliated with the lone star fugitive task force in san antonio. I said, hey, what can I do? Well, he reaches out to the, the marshals in arizona, and the detective texts me. He's like, dude, I don't know who you texted or who you got in contact with, but you have started a shit storm over here and I love it. I was like, awesome, good, that's what we want. And he's like, essentially they pretty much sent me a cease and desist, like, hey, we're going to take care of it. Please stop having people outside of us contact us. So he one of the issues was the da did not want to file the extension. They said it wasn't gruesome enough. And I was thinking, and when the detective told me that, I was like, yeah, I don't know what's more gruesome than getting shot in the face point blank with a shotgun.
Speaker 3:So, for those that don't know, a red notice when any fugitive that flees the country and is outside, it's the United States Marshal Service working with DOJ and you have to submit what's called a red notice and what that does is it puts a bounty or extends the warrant beyond the United States. With that being said, you have to have the DA's office and the local jurisdiction, whatever state that you're in, sign off or county sign off that they are going. If they're going to put the effort into extraditing this person back into the united states or back into that jurisdiction, it guarantees that that person is going to stay in trial and they're going to pursue charges. Uh, and so that's essentially what a red notice is, and once that red notice is locked in your connections with the marshal service, I I promise you it's just like. It's just like cop work.
Speaker 3:Right, when you have a contact at travis county and you work, work at Austin PD and you have contact at Hutto and you need some shit done that night, all you do is start picking up the phone. Well, marshall's, the same way in Mexico, same way in Denmark and those kind of places. So that's essentially what it sounds like, what happened. But go ahead.
Speaker 1:And for those of you out there who just don't know, because if he hasn't said it enough, Tyler used to be on the task force for the marshals and he never lets us.
Speaker 3:Uh, no, no, I am proud of my career, but I'm most proud because of that, because it was. That is a brotherhood. Marshal service is a very much a brotherhood.
Speaker 2:It's awesome yeah, no, um, thank you for explaining that. Um, where was I uh?
Speaker 3:the DA. Oh yeah, the DA wasn't gruesome DA, the DA said it wasn't gruesome enough.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the DA said it wasn't gruesome enough. So the detective was like, when I met up with him, uh, back in October, he was like man, he's like man, I got 23 years, I can retire any day I want. So he emailed the DA a crime scene photo of my mom and he said that the DA called him back and said man, fuck you, like that's fucked up, like that's not professional. But we'll do it, I'll grant you the extension.
Speaker 3:That's badass.
Speaker 2:So you know, he essentially kind of risked his job, like to do something not professional, right, so he does it. Well, I text the detective on the anniversary date. It would be 20, the 26 year anniversary date, so July 9th of last year. I texted him. I said I sent him a picture of my mom and I said, hey, my mom was in some shit, but I think she would have made it out the other side, thank you for all the work you've been putting in.
Speaker 2:I hadn't heard from him in a while when I sent that and he said, hey, can you keep a secret? I said what's up? And he sent me a picture and said marshals have him in custody in Mexico. They told me two weeks ago please do not tell anybody. They swore me to secrecy. Now I need to swear you to secrecy. You deserve to see the man who killed your mom. I said you got it.
Speaker 2:So I had to keep something like that internal. I couldn't tell anybody and it kind of sucked. I told I didn't tell my family but I told my like my adoptive family, like my close friends, like one of my co-workers, his family. I told them and I mean at that point I was kind of like this is nah, man, that's not real. Um well, he texted me and said, as we're getting closer, and he knew you were a cop, yep, yeah, he knew I was a cop. I went and met with him and everything. That was one thing he kind of pushed he was upset about is we're not filing an extension for somebody who he gives justice to other people but we can't give him justice. So he kind of hung on that and I appreciate it. But I'm, you know, I, I, I don't deserve better than anybody else, cop or not a cop, I don't. You know, everybody deserves what I got, no matter what your profession or your life background. You deserve the kind of treatment I got. Um, he, he texted me. He said, hey, they're going to extradite him back. I'd like you to be there. And I said, awesome. And I told him. I said, hey, I've always had an idea I've always played it out in my mind of he gets off the plane, I'm standing there in uniform. He doesn't know me, like it is what it is, I'm just as far as I know, I'm local police to him. I'm standing there in uniform and, uh, I'd like to be there in uniform. He said I'll see what I can do. Do you have a pair of Hank? I'd like to use a pair of your handcuffs to put on them. I said, awesome, I got. I got just a pair.
Speaker 2:Um, I growing up like I talked about the lack of mentorship I had when I got to high school, Um, one of my coaches lived a street away from me and he had my brother, so he kind of knew this story and he kind of took me under his wing and I'm forever grateful for that. He would take me to practice, he would give me odd jobs, he would pay me to do these odd jobs. He put me on the straight and narrow and he's what turned my life around. I invited him to my graduation. He showed up. He gave me a pair of handcuffs that had Officer Miller, 2020.
Speaker 2:And then on the back it said TFND, which is for the people that don't know. It means Tybee Fight Never Dies. It's the motto for the high school I went to and I look at that as a not just like an acronym or a school motto. It's kind of like a way of life for for me, because, like they instilled in you the grittiness and like to overcome adversity, and I said this is probably the biggest piece of adversity I've ever faced. What a better I I have. No, I'm not going to use these on anything else other than at that time when he gave them to me. I said I'm going to put these on that bad guy when he comes back on on my mom, the dude who killed my mom. I'm going to put these on that bad guy when he comes back the dude who killed my mom. I'm going to use those for that. I told my coach that too, and he said I'm holding you to that. So extradition comes around.
Speaker 2:I fly out to Phoenix. I got it signed off by my chain of command that I could go in full uniform. His chain of command, everybody came out for it. It was awesome. I had family in Phoenix, so my aunt went with me to it. Um, we went to the airport.
Speaker 2:Dude gets off the plane. He's got two marshals with him. I'm there with the detective um, I, I'm there with his like entire office, and then the da um, a lady who's at the ag's office in phoenix. She was on the da back in the day. She wasn't the the asshole da, though. Um, she came out like she's not even involved with the case anymore. She's at the ag's office. She came out um one of the the martial like coordinators, who's he came out, the detectives and sergeant, his, his, uh, his commander, they all came out and I think I ended up meeting one of the assistant chiefs. They all came out for this. Like everybody showed out and this guy gets off the plane, comes in. It was like very emotional and he, like he gets off and I'm like filled with anger. Like one of the things that like people were worried about is like I'm in a uniform and I'm like filled with anger. Like one of the things that like people were worried about is like I'm in a uniform and I'm going to do something stupid off this guy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I'm there with a loaded firearm, so a lot of people were weary of that, but I was like, dude, I've come this far.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I've overcome so much. I have so much more to give to people. I'm not going to do something to jeopardize, I'm not going to do something foolish or stupid. So he gets off. They take him into custody. I get to go to the room where they're going to do the change out. I hand my detective the cuffs he slaps him on. It was like it was the coolest thing, like man, that is badass. Yeah, it was awesome, it was.
Speaker 2:And then just the Phoenix PIO. They did a bang-up job. They covered it. I did an interview with them. They interviewed my aunt. Then it was just kicked off kind of like a news frenzy. I had news outlets in Phoenix hitting me up like, hey, we'd like to do an interview, we'd like to do an interview. They teams interviewed my siblings.
Speaker 2:At the time my mom was murdered. She got no air coverage at all in local news out there. At the time my mom was murdered. She got no air coverage at all in local news out there. A cat was mutilated and was on every news channel, was in every newspaper and that happened. The cat died. The same night my mom was killed. A cat got more news coverage than my mom did.
Speaker 2:So my mom's like the story of my mom was kind of like dead for years, right, and then this happened and all the PIO stuff that has come along with it. I'm like it's emotional but it's awesome because I get to like keep that story alive and I get to tell my mom's story and I get to also tell like, hey, my life sucked, it was, I was dealt the shittiest of hands and it was like a snowball effect. And I get to tell people and especially I I kind of cling to the youth right, troubled youth Cause I was a troubled youth I like to try and instill on them like, hey, where you start doesn't dictate where you end. Sure, um, I, you're gonna face adversity throughout your life. Everyone's gonna have different adversity and they're gonna have different levels of things.
Speaker 2:So, doing, going through what I went through, I wouldn't be able to be where I was today if I didn't have all that shit happen to me. I wouldn't be the cop I am today. I I'd like to think I'm slightly above average, I'd like to think I'm an all right cop. Um, but that also I don't want anybody, especially as a police officer. I don't want people to feel the way I felt because, by definition. I'm a victim and I don't want them to feel like they're never going to get justice. So I try, I try and bridge that and do whatever I can so the people I encounter every day have a peace of mind what a what a phenomenal story.
Speaker 3:Dude, that's a badass. Do you still have the handcuffs?
Speaker 2:I do. So I have the handcuffs. I just had somebody uh etch them. Yeah, not etch them. So I wrote my mom's name on it and Sharpie, it rubbed off and they put them on the guy, whatever, I rewrote it on there. But I, I have a shadow box and I have the handcuffs. They're a focal point and then, um, my first duty issued uh, firearms in there. And then I have all my challenge coins and that was a cool thing.
Speaker 2:When I was out there I got challenge coins mean a lot because, like, typically you earn a challenge coin, like you did something to earn it. They're not just typically handed out. So I got a challenge coin from the Phoenix Airport Police. I got challenge coins and patches from the Marshals. I got a challenge coin from the detective. I got a challenge coin from the AG that was out there. So, like all those have, those have like meaning to me and like for them to be centered around the handcuffs in a in a box is awesome as well. So they they showed me a lot of love when I went out there. What?
Speaker 3:would the 15 year old garrett. What does a 28 year old garrett tell? Tell a 12-year-old Garrett to this day.
Speaker 2:It gets better. Keep pushing. It's a very good question. Just keep pushing, because your attitude is going to dictate, kind of, how things play out. Like if you have a, it's hard for people.
Speaker 2:I hate the woe is me attitude. I hate the victim mentality. Like I said, by definition I am a victim, but I hate being labeled that so I could have had the. Kept having the woe is me attitude, like I did when I was a teenager. A young adolescent, but 28 year old me, would have said hey, suck it up. You, you're going to come out the other side. You have people that are looking up to you and expect a lot out of you given your circumstances, and I think you get more out of proving people wrong. So there's a lot of people who expected me to fail. There's a lot of people who, if I did fail, probably would be like I get that. I understand he had it rough. There's no reason for him to have just rebounded the way he did. And if I would have ended up dead, homeless or incarcerated, they probably would have said I understand that guy was a statistic and just stayed the statistical route.
Speaker 1:Go ahead. You know firm believer in that everything that happens to you in life is to prepare you for your future and in everything you've been through the story you shared with us today and where you've come, and just your overall attitude towards life it's preparing you for something a lot bigger than the five years you've done at.
Speaker 2:Austin PD. I promise you that.
Speaker 1:You're already making differences in people's lives every day, but I truly believe it's going to be something bigger. So just get ready.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's the thing too, is like I've done this. There's still a lot more I can do, you're just starting yeah.
Speaker 2:You're just starting. Every day I want to do more. So, like I said, my big thing is the adolescence, the troubled youth. I work with drugs now. Drugs are ultimately what caused my mom to be murdered. I hate drugs. If I can encounter someone who has a drug problem and I share my story a lot with people on the streets, whether it's a kid or like especially single moms who have an addiction problem, I share it with them because, you know, sometimes it's in one ear and out the other with a lot of people but that only takes that one, yes and that's, and then that one can turn around and impart it on somebody else. Yeah, so and that's kind of what I hope and I I strive for is like somebody can look at me and see it as an example to one do better and like things do get better, yep.
Speaker 3:Yep, Well, I can't thank you enough for coming on and sharing this. Uh, this is probably one of the better stories we've had on the podcast, but what a badass end for you to be able to handcuff the piece of shit that did this to your mom. So man kudos to you for pushing through it and kudos to you also for opening up to people about the story, because why keep a bottle in you? Want to share that and make a positive influence, absolutely.
Speaker 1:It's crazy First of's crazy.
Speaker 2:we appreciate you coming in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I appreciate y'all for having me we hope that every time you tell the story, it'll it gets a little better to tell it every single time, and that's a lot of times. That's what we do. What we do, yeah, you know the healing aspect of it too.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir. Well, did we get everything covered? Mike? Yeah, I believe so, okay, good. Well, we typically I hope you didn't study for this we typically like to end the show on three rapid fire questions, and I hope you didn't study for them what's your favorite line from a cop movie, or a favorite cop movie, your favorite cop car and then your favorite drink of choice?
Speaker 2:and we'll kick it off by saying the line of the cop movie or favorite cop uh, favorite line from a cop movie is probably like uh, denzel, on training day, all you motherfuckers are all you bitches gonna get cases, yeah, yeah. And then, um, favorite cop car man, I drove a lot of pieces of shit, like, honestly, yeah, but we've only I've only driven an explorer and we have an F one 50 canine car right now. Um, but I would like to drive a Tahoe. The new Tahoe is a pretty mean and I think, uh, if somebody sees a Tahoe in their rear view, hopefully they think it's.
Speaker 2:DPS, and they know not to floor it Right. Um, favorite drink of choice. Um, a lot of people probably gonna make fun of me, but I, I don't drink alcohol. Um, so I like to be the dd when I go out and typically if my friends are drinking, I get a lemonade, and half the time it's a pink lemonade and they're like yeah, you get a pink lemonade. So it's either a lemonade or like mountain dew.
Speaker 3:Hey, that's understandable. That's cool, man, that's cool.
Speaker 1:So I got something to end with. Okay. So this was the last time I was on. I had some comments and emails and some text. So, if you don't know, on the side, I'm obsessed with barbecue, so I'd like to give a barbecue tip for all those backyard cookers. Yes, something that every backyard cooker, I guarantee you, messes up. It's a simple little trick. You know, when you go to glaze your ribs at the end, or your chicken or whatever you're trying to make saucy, the biggest mistake is not heating up the sauce before you put it on. You can heat up that sauce. It thins out. So when it goes on, it goes on thin and you don't have that blotchy pasty, sticky sauce on top understandable, yeah I never even thought about that I never knew about it just just heat it up.
Speaker 3:I'm telling you makes a world of difference well, I know that you there has been plenty of mike gomez saves, uh, by sharing your cooking expertise. Tony reich's one of them, uh, we were at an event one time and tony completely foobarred these briskets and we had to call mike like what do we? Do? What do we do? What do we do? We've got all these briskets we got to cook, and mike mike saved the day, thankfully. So yeah, mike cooking. What is the cooking tips with mike?
Speaker 1:yeah, we can have our own podcast. Yeah, yeah, so man.
Speaker 3:Again, I can't thank you enough for coming on. I appreciate it what a badass story. I'm looking forward to uh reminiscing and looking at some of the case files and stuff whenever you send those in.
Speaker 2:We're going to overload those, overlay those with uh, this podcast, but anything else you want to leave on um I, I just want to say thanks for having me Um, because, like I said, it gives me an opportunity. Like a lot of people would be like, oh, whatever, you know, everyone's got a sad story. But like this gives me a chance to tell the story. Um, for you know, my mom and I have siblings out there, right, it's not all about me. They went through the same thing. They have their own success story they can tell um. I don't want to overshadow them in my success just because I'm a cop so I'm but I'm glad I can be kind of the mouthpiece for my family and tell the story of my mom and kind of keep, keep that story alive. And we go to trial um in june, so we're hoping for a good trial let us know.
Speaker 3:maybe me, maybe me and Mike can go out there and be a support role in that I appreciate that We'd love to document that, and I'm going to end with this too. We had an ICE agent come on and talk about him and his partner were murdered, or he wasn't. His partner was murdered in Mexico and he was able to get some legislation pushed. We need to look at trying to get some legislation passed to prevent that 18-year mark from happening on the extradition. We can assist with that and we'd be happy to do so.
Speaker 2:There's no statute of limitations for murder in the US, right?
Speaker 3:I don't think it's right that you can just flee the country and live under wraps 18 years is, If there's never a good time to do it we've got some money. That's pretty pro-law enforcement. So yeah, man, would love to be there, part of you, and to experience the trial and at least give us an update Absolutely and then I'm trying to compose a book.
Speaker 3:Yeah, when you do, let us know, come back on and we'll proudly display it here on this platform. For sure I appreciate that. Well, it is gearing up for the last cold snap of the year. You guys, bundle up, take care, stay safe, be on the lookout for our conference announcement. We should be having that rolled out later on this month, if not mid-March. Take care, stay safe, god bless you and, as always, may God bless Texas. We bless you, we'll be right back, thank you.
