Murder At the Monte Carlo Cafe (A Marysville Incident)
It was well into the morning of Christmas, December 25th, 1974 when a shot rang out in the lower end of Marysville. The Monte Carlo Cafe at 115 C Street, which was nestled deep inside the heart of old Chinatown. This end of town had never been a stranger to violence.
The building is gone now, the location is empty, which is now a peaceful and serene lot with a couple fruit trees. Not even a shadow to what it was in that winter of '74.
The bar of the Monte Carlo had slowed down to just a few customers. 40-year-old Bartender Berta Pena recalled that a group of men had been sitting at a table playing cards and drinking wine, along with bar owner Leonel Molina Cantu when a patron known as Jorge came in around 1 a.m.
Twenty-five-year-old Manuel "Jorge" Gonzales-Garcia had left only about a half an hour earlier, but returned. He joined the group of men at a table.
The peaceful evening was soon interrupted by the breaking of bottles and shouting. He was swiftly reprimanded by the bartender's wife who told him if he continued to break bottles he would have to pay for them.
Jorge settled down.
The evening went on as it had previously, the men continued on in their jovial conversation, drinking and carrying on. In a quick and unexpected moment, a shot pierced the cheerful atmosphere and people took a moment to collect themselves.
"What's the matter with Jorge?" A man was heard asking Mrs. Pena.
There was Jorge on the floor of the Monte Carlo Cafe, in a pool of his own blood. The only clue to what had gone wrong was a .38 caliber casing laying near the man.
Shot at close range, that bullet ripped through the top of the 25-year-old farm worker's heart, emptying his life-source onto the floor. The young man died before police could arrive.
It would later come to the surface, that the argument was over a woman.
With multiple witnesses to the incident in the intimate setting, it didn't take long for Marysville Police to come up with a suspect.
You would think this is where the story ends, but in fact, this is where a long saga that lasted 7 years began.
Police issued an arrest warrant and they began looking for the man witnesses said shot and killed Jorge. Initially, police remained quiet about his name in the media. This was for good reason, they feard if word got back to him, he would flee. The man eluded police. He was like a ghost, nowhere to be found.
Their worst fears came true when they realized their suspect, a Mexican national, was now a fugitive.
That suspect was Monte Carlo Cafe owner, Leonel Molina Cantu.
Police here in California tried for years to get cooperation from Mexican authorities to no avail. The Yuba County District Attorney's Office went through the U.S. State Department to obtain an order for extradition, but Mexican officials refused to enforce the bench warrant.
El Paso Herald Post Newspaper Archives, Dec 31, 1974, p. 6
"El Paso Police Aid Is Sought To Find Suspect
The Marysville, Calif. Police Department sought the aide of El Paso Police Dept, in finding Lionel Molina Cantu, 43, of Mexico, wanted in the shooting of another man in a bar fight on Christmas night in Marysville. The man is believed to be in the El Paso or Juarez area. He was working in Marysville using a Blue Card permit. He is considered to be armed with a 380 automatic gun and may have access to a .38 caliber revolver, a ’25 automatic, and a nine-millimeter gun. He is described as five feet five inches, 215 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He goes by the alias of Jose or Dalia Cantu. Anyone having information about his whereabouts should contact the Police Department immediately."
This frustrated Marysville Police to no end, but there was not much that could be done without the cooperation of Mexican authorities. In fact, the man was so well protected in Mexico, that he was allowed to become chief of police in the Texas-border town of Agualeguas in the Nuevo Leon Province.
Appeal Democrat Friday, January 17, 1975, Marysville, California -
"Suspect’s Wife Seeks Alimony
The wife of murder suspect Leonel Molina Cantu, 43, has filed a petition in Yuba County Superior Court to end their marriage on grounds of irreconcilable differences. Cantu, who lived at 856 Clark Ave., Yuba City, until recently, is a suspect in the Christmas Day murder of Manuel Gonzales - Garcia. 25. of 307 B St., Marysville. He was killed by a single shot from a .38 pistol early Christmas Day at the Monte Carlo Tavern, 115 C St., Marysville. Lupe C. Cantu seeks an unspecified amount in alimony in her petition for dissolution of marriage. Cantu operated used furniture stores in the Hub area and a restaurant at the Hotel Marysville prior to his disappearance following the shooting They were married March 12, 1959, at Exeter and separated in March. 1972."
Cantu left a trail of misery behind him.
For years Cantu conversed with his lawyer in Sacramento denying any guilt in the crime.
The fact was, Cantu was no stranger to violence. 11 years prior, Cantu was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon on a 32-year-old farm worker named Crecenciano M. Garivaldi. The Appeal-Democrat reported that he allegedly "cut" the worker. The incident occurred near Simpson Lane, where Cantu was working at the Quinco Ranch, as a labor contractor.
Time passed, and 7 years later, Cantu emerged from hiding.
He was found in Jenks, Ok. working as a trucker, after receiving a traffic citation for driving with snow tires when conditions didn't warrant it. Cantu had been going by "Leonel Cantu Molina" at the time. A quick run of his name turned up a warrant out of Marysville, Ca for murder.
A quick call to Marysville to ensure the warrant was still outstanding, put an end to the 7-year chase. Cantu was promptly extradited back to California. On his way back to California, he told Marysville Police Sgt. Jerry Akins, that he had planned to surrender himself all along. "Since seven years had gone by since the murder of Gonzales-Garcia," according to an Appeal-Democrat article, Akin observed, "it apparently was taking Cantu a long time to get around to it."
Cantu was held on a million dollar bond.
He pled not guilty.
Unfortunately, at least for now, this is where my paper trail ends. I was unable to find any conviction or sentencing information.
I did, however, manage to find a small clipping for a Leonel M. Cantu who died in 1995. Doing the math from 1931 to the age Cantu would have been in 1974 (43), it is a match. If this is indeed the correct Leonel, he may have passed away at the age of 63(or4).
I am not sure about the social security benefits.
Clipping from an additional attack Cantu was arrested for 11 years prior.
Other mentions of The Monte Carlo found in papers -
1969
1965
The bar of the Monte Carlo had slowed down to just a few customers. 40-year-old Bartender Berta Pena recalled that a group of men had been sitting at a table playing cards and drinking wine, along with bar owner Leonel Molina Cantu when a patron known as Jorge came in around 1 a.m.
Twenty-five-year-old Manuel "Jorge" Gonzales-Garcia had left only about a half an hour earlier, but returned. He joined the group of men at a table.
The peaceful evening was soon interrupted by the breaking of bottles and shouting. He was swiftly reprimanded by the bartender's wife who told him if he continued to break bottles he would have to pay for them.
Jorge settled down.
The evening went on as it had previously, the men continued on in their jovial conversation, drinking and carrying on. In a quick and unexpected moment, a shot pierced the cheerful atmosphere and people took a moment to collect themselves.
"What's the matter with Jorge?" A man was heard asking Mrs. Pena.
There was Jorge on the floor of the Monte Carlo Cafe, in a pool of his own blood. The only clue to what had gone wrong was a .38 caliber casing laying near the man.
Shot at close range, that bullet ripped through the top of the 25-year-old farm worker's heart, emptying his life-source onto the floor. The young man died before police could arrive.
It would later come to the surface, that the argument was over a woman.
With multiple witnesses to the incident in the intimate setting, it didn't take long for Marysville Police to come up with a suspect.
You would think this is where the story ends, but in fact, this is where a long saga that lasted 7 years began.
Police issued an arrest warrant and they began looking for the man witnesses said shot and killed Jorge. Initially, police remained quiet about his name in the media. This was for good reason, they feard if word got back to him, he would flee. The man eluded police. He was like a ghost, nowhere to be found.
Their worst fears came true when they realized their suspect, a Mexican national, was now a fugitive.
That suspect was Monte Carlo Cafe owner, Leonel Molina Cantu.
Police here in California tried for years to get cooperation from Mexican authorities to no avail. The Yuba County District Attorney's Office went through the U.S. State Department to obtain an order for extradition, but Mexican officials refused to enforce the bench warrant.
El Paso Herald Post Newspaper Archives, Dec 31, 1974, p. 6
"El Paso Police Aid Is Sought To Find Suspect
The Marysville, Calif. Police Department sought the aide of El Paso Police Dept, in finding Lionel Molina Cantu, 43, of Mexico, wanted in the shooting of another man in a bar fight on Christmas night in Marysville. The man is believed to be in the El Paso or Juarez area. He was working in Marysville using a Blue Card permit. He is considered to be armed with a 380 automatic gun and may have access to a .38 caliber revolver, a ’25 automatic, and a nine-millimeter gun. He is described as five feet five inches, 215 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He goes by the alias of Jose or Dalia Cantu. Anyone having information about his whereabouts should contact the Police Department immediately."
This frustrated Marysville Police to no end, but there was not much that could be done without the cooperation of Mexican authorities. In fact, the man was so well protected in Mexico, that he was allowed to become chief of police in the Texas-border town of Agualeguas in the Nuevo Leon Province.
Appeal Democrat Friday, January 17, 1975, Marysville, California -
"Suspect’s Wife Seeks Alimony
The wife of murder suspect Leonel Molina Cantu, 43, has filed a petition in Yuba County Superior Court to end their marriage on grounds of irreconcilable differences. Cantu, who lived at 856 Clark Ave., Yuba City, until recently, is a suspect in the Christmas Day murder of Manuel Gonzales - Garcia. 25. of 307 B St., Marysville. He was killed by a single shot from a .38 pistol early Christmas Day at the Monte Carlo Tavern, 115 C St., Marysville. Lupe C. Cantu seeks an unspecified amount in alimony in her petition for dissolution of marriage. Cantu operated used furniture stores in the Hub area and a restaurant at the Hotel Marysville prior to his disappearance following the shooting They were married March 12, 1959, at Exeter and separated in March. 1972."
Cantu left a trail of misery behind him.
For years Cantu conversed with his lawyer in Sacramento denying any guilt in the crime.
The fact was, Cantu was no stranger to violence. 11 years prior, Cantu was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon on a 32-year-old farm worker named Crecenciano M. Garivaldi. The Appeal-Democrat reported that he allegedly "cut" the worker. The incident occurred near Simpson Lane, where Cantu was working at the Quinco Ranch, as a labor contractor.
Time passed, and 7 years later, Cantu emerged from hiding.
He was found in Jenks, Ok. working as a trucker, after receiving a traffic citation for driving with snow tires when conditions didn't warrant it. Cantu had been going by "Leonel Cantu Molina" at the time. A quick run of his name turned up a warrant out of Marysville, Ca for murder.
A quick call to Marysville to ensure the warrant was still outstanding, put an end to the 7-year chase. Cantu was promptly extradited back to California. On his way back to California, he told Marysville Police Sgt. Jerry Akins, that he had planned to surrender himself all along. "Since seven years had gone by since the murder of Gonzales-Garcia," according to an Appeal-Democrat article, Akin observed, "it apparently was taking Cantu a long time to get around to it."
Cantu was held on a million dollar bond.
He pled not guilty.
Unfortunately, at least for now, this is where my paper trail ends. I was unable to find any conviction or sentencing information.
I did, however, manage to find a small clipping for a Leonel M. Cantu who died in 1995. Doing the math from 1931 to the age Cantu would have been in 1974 (43), it is a match. If this is indeed the correct Leonel, he may have passed away at the age of 63(or4).
I am not sure about the social security benefits.
Clipping from an additional attack Cantu was arrested for 11 years prior.
Other mentions of The Monte Carlo found in papers -
1969
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