Car linked to Televisa attack had Valley tags

MISSION - A car that may have been used in Tuesday's attack on a Televisa network station in Monterrey, N.L. had license plates registered to a Mission resident.

Roberto Calzada said he sold the red 1995 Grand Am on Dec. 29 and mailed in the appropriate documents that would list Roberto Carreon of Reynosa as its new owner.

Calzada said he had no idea why the vehicle turned up at the attack site and explained that he only met Carreon when he sold him the Grand Am.

"I didn't commit any crime," Calzada said in Spanish during a phone interview on Wednesday, adding that his wife and children were upset by the news and their sudden involvement in the case.

Mexican media reported Wednesday that a group of hooded men fired guns and hurled a fragmentation grenade at the door of the Televisa building and threatened employees with a note that read: "Stop reporting only about us, also report about the narco leaders. This is a warning."

No injuries were reported in the incident, but newspapers said one woman suffered a "nervous attack" and vehicles outside the building were destroyed or damaged.

A phone number for Carreon, the car's buyer, was not listed in the Texas Motor Vehicle transfer notification he completed with Calzada. He used a Reynosa address.

Calzada said he sold the vehicle for $350 because it had a faulty engine and was "giving him problems."

"To be honest, I don't know how it could have made it from Reynosa to Monterrey," Calzada said. "The engine was failing."

Mexican authorities have not yet contacted him regarding the car. It was found near the attack site at the intersection of Aramberri and Serafín Peña, according to a news release from the office of Mexico's attorney general. Authorities found a .40 mm Glock pistol inside the car.

Mexican news Web site milenio.com reported that a pair of black pants and a blue sweatshirt were also found inside the Grand Am.

Televisa Monterrey director Francisco Cobo told media that the masked gunmen arrived in two pickup trucks and opened fire during the station's evening newscast. Two anchors broadcast a request for help over the air.

Federal authorities are searching for trace evidence on the note, which was left inside a grey 1970 Volkswagen Sedan.

Press freedom groups have condemned the attack and are demanding a quick and thorough investigation.

Attacks on journalists are not rare in Mexico. According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 24 reporters have been killed in Mexico since 2000, and seven have disappeared in the last three years. At least 5,300 people died in Mexico in drug-related slayings in 2008.

Monterrey, with a metro area population of about 4 million, is the capital of the state of Nuevo Leon in northeastern Mexico. It is considered one of the most important cities in the nation.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Ana Ley covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4428.