Fired Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer Christopher Dorner seen in an undated photo wearing a military uniform on display at a press conference regarding the manhunt for Dorner, at LADP headquarters in Los Angeles February 7, 2013.
(ABC NEWS) -- The dragnet for suspected cop killer Christopher Dorner has been
extended as far south as the Mexican border as the Border Patrol is
scrutinizing more carefully people trying to cross into Mexico.
The focus on the border, which is creating longer lines than normal at
the San Diego-Tijuana border crossing, comes as law enforcement continue
to comb through Big Bear Mountain where Dorner's burned truck was found
last week, but that effort appears to be scaling back.
The dragnet was expanded as Dorner, a dismissed Los Angelese Police Department cop, was formally charged with murdering a Riverside police officer, a charge that could bring the death penalty if Dorner is captured and convicted.
The charges do not involve two other people Dorner is suspected of killing in Orange County.
The Border Patrol said they were heightening their checks of vehicles and pedestrians passing south into Mexico.
"Customs and Border Protection officers and agents from the Office of
Field Operations, the U.S. Border Patrol and the Office of Air and
Marine are providing assistance in the search as requested from law
enforcement authorities," a statement from the Border Patrol said. An
official with the agency said the request was part of the search for
Dormer.
The statement said that because of the extra precautions, "travelers heading southbound into Mexico may experience delays."
Dorner, 33, is suspected of killing Riverside police officer Michael
Crain and seriously wounding another in an ambush that occurred last
Wednesday. He is also suspected of killing Monica Quan, the daughter of
ex-Los Angeles Police Department captain Randal Quan, and her fiancé
Keith Lawrence, who were found shot to death on Feb. 3 in the parking
lot of their condominium complex in Irvine, Calif.
"By both his words and conduct, he has made very clear to us that every
law enforcement officer in Southern California is in danger of being
shot and killed," Riverside District Attorney Paul Zellerbach said.
The manhunt was in its fifth day Monday in the San Bernardino Mountains
near the popular ski resort town of Big Bear, roughly 80 miles northeast
from Los Angeles.
A $1 million reward for the capture and conviction of Dorner has
fostered hundreds of clues on Monday that authorities are investigating
in an attempt to capture Dorner.
Within a few hours of the reward announcement, a reported Dorner
sighting led to an evacuation of a Lowe's Home Improvement store on
Sunday in Los Angele's San Fernando Valley. Helicopters hovered overhead
and a command center was established, however after searching the
store, authorities were unable to find any evidence that Dorner was
there or had been there.
The last clue to Dorner's whereabouts was when his burned out truck
was found last Thursday on the side of Big Bear Mountain which
contained weapons and had a broken axle. The search was scaled back over
the weekend and a helicopter equipped with heat-seeking technology is
assisting two-dozen officers by scanning the area while they return to
some of the 600 cabins they earlier visited.
Though he remains at large, authorities believe that Big Bear remains
his most likely location and planning may have helped him avoid capture
thus far.
Dorner released a 6,000 word so-called "manifesto" on his Facebook page
which outlined his distaste for the Los Angeles Police Department and
made threats against individuals he believed were responsible for ending
his career with the police force five years ago. The LAPD has assigned
50 protection details to guard officers and their families who were
deemed possible targets.
Despite the costs, there are no plans to reduce the protection until
Dorner is in custody, Los Angeles police Sgt. Rudy Lopez said.
Between the manhunt, protection details, and the need for additional
security at Sunday's Grammy Awards, the Los Angeles Police Department
enacted a tactical alert Sunday afternoon that would remain in effect
through Monday; the alert can require officers to stay on duty beyond
their shifts and asks them not to respond to low-priority radio calls.
ABC News' Alyssa Newcomb and The Associated Press contributed to this report
DANIEL CLARK and ALEX STONE, ABC News