Who was Matthew Pavelka? California cop's last words in chilling 911 audio reveal final moments before being shot
Mike Pavelka was sitting by the phone on November 15, 2003, awaiting confirmation from his cop son Matthew Pavelka, to meet at the club the next day and unwind with some golf. Mike's phone call came shortly after, but it was the LAPD, informing him of his son's death. Pavelka was only 26 years old, and nine months into the force when he had responded to a backup call at the Ramada Inn, Burbank, California which wound end up taking his life.
Pavelka was also the first Burbank officer to be killed in the line of duty. But his death was so tragic that it kickstarted a two-week-long manhunt to find his killer and bring him to justice. In the process, the police unraveled a web of drugs and violence tied to dangerous Mexican cartels.
The local, state and federal authorities identified Pavelka's killer, David A. Garcia, arrested him in Mexico and had him brought back to the US to face a first-degree murder charge, among other things. He is now serving a life sentence.
Now, in a discovery+ three-part docuseries about how Pavelka's murder unfurled it all, a chilling 911 audio of the young officer's final moments has been revealed.
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At 6:26 pm on November 15, Campbell had approached the Vineland Boyz's vehicle as it was parked suspiciously at the inn, and had no license plate. Campbell requested for backup immediately and Pavelka was the only one who responded, approaching the scene. Campbell recounts the event in the documentary, revealing how he had requested the driver to step out of the vehicle, while Pavelka approached the passenger side.
Campbell recalls it was suspicious that the driver would step out of the car clockwise, as most people do it the other way. He considers that a hint he had missed, as the driver, Aranda, turned around to pull out a gun and began shooting.
At this point, the police transponder recording shows Pavelka yelling "Shots fired Ramada Inn." When the response asks him to identify unit, he again yells "Shots fired." He once more yells "Shots fired" but this time the voice is distorted before the audio dies down.
Aranda had died first, after which Garcia had emerged from the passenger side, and shot Cambell, leaving him lying in a pool of his blood. He then shot Pavelka from the back, Campbell recounts, adding that Garcia fired a few extra times at Pavelka's body just to be sure. Campbell says Garcia had turned to shoot him too, but left when he saw the puddle of blood he was lying in, thinking he was already dead.
When other officers arrived, they found the bodies and the badly injured Campbell. They also found the stranded vehicle with the drugs and automatic rifle inside. The weaponry used by Garcia and Aranda, and the quality and quantity of methamphetamine found in their vehicle led the authorities to suspect that there was more to the gang than they had given them credit for. And soon enough, the cartel connections came out.
Pavelka's father Mike, and mother Sue Pavelka also feature in the documentary to fondly reminisce about their jokester son who was always 'playing the fool'. He would stand up for other kids and thus sparked his interest in a career in law enforcement, his mother revealed. And his father added how Pavelka 'would've wanted to die in gunfire'.
'American Cartel' will be available for streaming on discovery+ from March 30 ET/PT.