Antonio Garcia Lopez (criminal)
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- For other people with similar names, see Antonio Lopez.
Francisco Antonio García López (1943 - 1995), also known as Toño Bicicleta (or Bicycle Tony, in English) , was a Puerto Rican criminal famous for escaping from jail several times. García managed to become part of Puerto Rican lore and the object of constant references in popular local culture. His escapees have become some sort of local legend in Puerto Rico.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early History
Believed to be born in Lares, Puerto Rico, García was originally accused of the murder of his wife. He was mostly known as Toño Bicicleta because he never owned a car, and his favorite means of transportation was a bicycle.
[edit] Criminal History
According to popular legend (and police investigation), one day in 1968, García caught his wife, Gloria Soto, cheating on him and he proceeded to kill her. Some sources say he shot her, others say he killed her with a machete. After that he was sentenced to life in jail. However, he managed to escape two years later.
In 1974, García was again captured by a civilian in a farm in the town of Bayamón. He was incarcerated in the prison of Sabana Hoyos in Arecibo until 1981 when he escaped again.
His numerous escapes helped him become part of the local lore. Allegedly, during his escapes he would continue commiting rape and kidnappings. However, some people claim that due to his notoriety he was used as some sort of scapegoat both by authorities and civilians to several crimes in the island.
In 1983, García escaped for the seventh and last time. That time, he was able to stay on the loose for 12 years before being caught. In 1987, he killed his uncle and stepfather. That same year, García killed Luis Rodríguez and kidnapped his girlfriend, Diana Pérez Lebrón. The woman stayed with the criminal for eight years and was with him at the moment of his last showdown with authorities.
[edit] Death and Afterwards
In the morning of November 29, 1995, García was allegedly working in a coffee plantation in Castañer, Lares. The cops arrived at 7:30 am, and officer Luis Rosa Merced shot the notorious criminal in the genitals. García eventually bled to death.
García's burial was attended by close to 3,000 people curious to see the most notorious criminal of the island in the 20th Century.
[edit] References to Toño Bicileta
- In the 1980s, there was a song titled La Bicicleta de Toño (Toño's Bicycle).
- In the early 1990s, local rock band La Mancha del Jardín released another song simply titled Toño Bicicleta.
- In the late 1990s, a local film titled La Noche Que Se Apareció Toño Bicicleta (The Night that Toño Bicicleta Appeared) was released.
