Tiburcio Vásquez
| Tiburcio Vasquez | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
August 11, 1835 Monterey, Alta California, Mexico (present day Monterey, California, United States) |
| Died | March 19, 1875 (aged 39) San Jose, California |
| Criminal penalty | Death by hanging |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
Tiburcio Vásquez (April 11, 1835 – March 19, 1875) was a Californio bandido who was active in California from 1854 to 1874. The Vasquez Rocks, 40 miles (64 km) north of Los Angeles, were one of his many hideouts and are named for him.
Tiburcio Vásquez was born in Monterey, Alta California Mexico (present day California, United States) on April 10, 1835 to Jose Hermenegildo Vásquez and Maria Guadalupe Cantua. In accord with Spanish tradition, Vásquez's birth was celebrated on the feast day of his namesake, St. Tiburtius. Thus, he would always refer to his birthday as August 11, 1835. His great-grandfather came to Alta California with the De Anza Expedition of 1776. Vásquez was slightly built, about 5 feet 7 inches in height. His family sent him to school, and he was fluent in both English and Spanish.
In 1852, Vásquez was influenced by Anastacio Garcia, one of California's most dangerous bandits. In 1854, Vásquez was present at the slaying of Monterey Constable William Hardmount in a fight with Anastacio Garcia at a fandango. Vásquez denied any involvement and fled, becoming an outlaw. Vásquez would later claim his crimes were the result of discrimination by the norteamericanos and insist that he was a defender of Mexican-American rights. Vásquez and Garcia played leading roles in Monterey County's murderous Roach-Belcher feud, which reached its end when Garcia was executed by hanging in 1875.
By 1856, he was actively rustling horses. A sheriff's posse caught up with him near Newhall, and he spent the next five years behind bars in San Quentin prison. There he helped organize, and participated in, four bloody prison breaks which left twenty convicts dead. After his release, he committed numerous burglaries, cattle thefts, and highway robberies in Sonoma County in 1866. He was captured after a store burglary in Petaluma and sent to prison again for three years. His "trademark" was "binding [his victims'] hands behind their back and leaving them face down in the dust."
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