Crime Scene

Smugglin' granny caught with dope

Who knows what else was in her bags - gifts for grandkids, maybe some knitting materials? - but it was the 6.5 pounds of heroin hidden in Maria Resfa Garzon de Arenas' belongings that caused some red flags at the Fort Lauderdale airport yesterday.

Drug smuggling ain't news in South Florida, but here's what's interesting: Garzon de Arenas is 74 years old. Not exactly the profile you think of a smack smuggler.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami announced that Garzon de Arenas was arrested after a Bogota-to-Fort Lauderdale flight that landed at 3 p.m. June 12. She went through the customs process, and agents found heroin "sewn within the lining of notebook binders, a jewelry case, and in a false cavity of women's slippers."

She'll have a hearing June 18 in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Seltzer. If the case goes to trial and she's convicted, Garzon de Arenas faces life in prison.

Before we get out our jump-to-conclusions mat, though, let's remember the drug-smuggling world is a dangerous, unforgiving one. Time will tell what other factors may have been at play here, including maybe someone forcing Garzon de Arenas to carry the drugs. Maria Full of Grace, anyone?

A mug only a mother could love (UPDATED)

One of our favorite Monday time-passers here at Crime Scene is scrolling through the freshly posted mugshots The Smoking Gun compiles from all over the country.

This week's collection includes the requisite pretty girls, funny T-shirts and bad haircuts. And my personal favorite, the woman at the left who's flipping the bird.

The mugshots must be a popular feature, or else I'm guessing TSG wouldn't post them every week.

The Palm Beach Post now links the latest county jail mugshots prominently on its homepage. That recently got New Times blogger Bob Norman questioning whether this application of public records is "appropriate for a serious newspaper." 

An interesting debate. What do you think? Would you like to see the Herald post mugshots of every person who comes through the Miami-Dade and Broward jails?

**UPDATE: We do have a gallery of celebrity mugshots. Click here to see what everyone from muzak impresario Yanni to rock legend Jim Morrison to state Sen. Mandy Dawson looked like after their South Florida busts. 

Unsolved cop-killing on America's Most Wanted

America's Most Wanted will again profile the case of slain BSO Sgt. Chris Reyka (left) on Saturday night's broadcast.

This case has weighed heavily on the hearts of law enforcement officers in South Florida and across the country since Reyka was gunned down in a drugstore parking lot last August. Leads have come and gone, and at times investigators seemed close to breaking through with an arrest, but so far, the case is still open and unsolved.

The show airs at 9 p.m. on Fox affiliates nationwide.

Two men arrested for robbing graves

These two men may bring new meaning to the term grave robbing.

Hollywood Police say Carlos Javier Gonzalez (left), 32, and Victor Perez, 44, stole brass flower vases off grave sites at Fred Hunter's Memorial Gardens in Hollywood.

Then they sold them to A & B Recycling for scrap. No word on how much they got for the vases.

Gonzalez was arrested Friday on a charge of grand theft. Police arrested Perez last Wednesday on the same charge.