Illegal immigrant arrested in fatal shooting
Associated Press - November 21, 2008 3:14 AM ET
PHOENIX (AP) - Police have arrested an illegal immigrant wanted in connection with a fatal shooting last weekend in Mesa.
Christian Garcia, 26, was taken into custody Wednesday in Tucson as he was preparing to leave for Mexico, authorities said.
Once transported to Mesa, police said Garcia admitted to shooting a .9mm-caliber and .40-caliber handgun at a pickup carrying Christian Gonzalez early Sunday.
Gonzalez was killed and two other people in the vehicle were injured, police said.
Garcia was booked on suspicion of first-degree murder and four counts of aggravated assault.
Investigators believe the shooting is related to an altercation that occurred at a club in Mesa early Sunday.
Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
CT Illegal installs secret video in ladies room
Janitor charged with secretly recording women in Stamford train station bathroom
Stamford man facing at least 16 voyeurism charges
By Martin B. Cassidyand John NickersonStaff Writers
Article Launched: 11/13/2008 10:39:16 AM EST
STAMFORD - A janitor at the Stamford train station was charged Thursday with secretly videotaping at least 16 women in a bathroom stall with a cell phone taped to a roll of toilet paper.
Felicitos Gonzalez, 41, of 1 Division St., Apartment R, Stamford, was arrested by Metropolitan Transportation Authority police at his home a block away from the train station Wednesday.
Gonzalez was arraigned on 16 counts of voyeurism at state Superior Court in Stamford Thursday.
Judge Barbara Brazzel-Massaro ruled that Gonzalez, a Mexican native working in the country illegally, will be jailed in lieu of $50,000 bond for the Class D felony.
Gonzalez' defense attorney Howard Ehring said his client had little chance, if any of raising the money
A court translator reviews information for Felicitos Gonzalez during his arraignment on voyeurism charges Thursday at state Superior Court in Stamford. (Dru Nadler/Staff photo)to bond out.
Gonzalez' arrest by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority came after a 21-year-old woman used the ladies bathroom near the Dunkin' Donuts on the main floor of the train station late in the evening on Nov. 1, Gonzalez' arrest warrant says.
When the woman picked her book bag up off the floor, she tipped over a red plastic waste basked that contained five or six toilet paper rolls, she told police. As she picked up the rolls to place them back in the basket, one of the rolls felt heavy and started to beep, the warrant states.
"I ripped the toilet paper off of the roll and noticed that a camera phone had been taped to the roll. I turned the camera around and looked at the screen and noticed that it was recording the
bathroom stall," she said in her witness statement to the MTA.
The woman then got on the 11:30 p.m. train to Grand Central Station. Along the way she began looking at the recordings on the phone and found a video clip of a male Hispanic man wearing a green shirt as he set the phone into a stationary position and placed toilet rolls around it, the warrant said.
The woman also saw recordings of two other women going to the bathroom before turning off the phone, the warrant said.
Two days later the woman reported the camera to a police officer at a road job and he told her to call MTA police. That same day on Nov. 3 she talked to MTA Detective Sean Connolly about the phone and turned over the phone, which still had toilet paper taped around it, according to the warrant.
The next day a property manager for Fusco Management, which runs the train station, reviewed the video recordings and identified Gonzalez as the Hispanic man pictured on the camera phone.
Gonzalez, has for the past seven months worked for Suburban Contract Cleaning, a subcontractor hired by Fusco to clean and maintain the station.
Gonzalez has been in Connecticut for seven years according to the state bail commissioner and was identified by Sprint/Nextel as the phone's subscriber, the affidavit said. Inside the phone, authorities found three video files each two hours long.
In each of the videos Gonzalez is clearly seen cutting up pieces of toilet paper and taping the paper around the lens of the camera phone. He is then seen sitting down on the toilet seat to check the view on the phone screen, the affidavit said.
In reviewing the video recordings, Connolly saw 16 women enter the stall, pull down their pants and sit on the toilet seat, the affidavit said.
It is not clear when the recordings were made.
MTA Police Sgt. John Rizzitelli said, "We knew almost immediately he was one of the station cleaners... He denied it."
Police on Wednesday also seized a home computer from Gonzalez' bedroom which is being analyzed for further images at the Connecticut State Police Crime Lab in Meriden.
The U.S. Immigration, Customs, & Enforcement Agency was notified about the case, due to Gonzalez' immigration status.
Gonzalez is no longer working at the train station, Jason Fascella, Fusco's property manager at the station said, referring further questions to Fusco's headquarters and the DOT.
DOT spokesman Judd Everhart praised the MTA Police for making the arrest.
"The MTA Police are to be commended for quick action on these allegations of outrageous criminal behavior," Everhart said. "Connecticut commuters expect and deserve safe, clean conditions at every location."
In both Stamford and Bridgeport, Fusco subcontracts for various services, including cleaning and parking tasks, DOT Spokesman Kevin Nursick said.
In 2007, Fusco received about $2.5 million to manage the Stamford station, including the cost of the subcontractors, Nursick said.
The DOT requires that all firms doing business with it follow state and federal employment and immigration laws, Nursick said.
Stamford is the busiest station on the Metro North New Haven Line after Grand Central, with an average of 4,300 getting off the train there each day - 2,500 coming from other points in Connecticut and 1,800 from New York - during the morning rush.
Stamford man facing at least 16 voyeurism charges
By Martin B. Cassidyand John NickersonStaff Writers
Article Launched: 11/13/2008 10:39:16 AM EST
STAMFORD - A janitor at the Stamford train station was charged Thursday with secretly videotaping at least 16 women in a bathroom stall with a cell phone taped to a roll of toilet paper.
Felicitos Gonzalez, 41, of 1 Division St., Apartment R, Stamford, was arrested by Metropolitan Transportation Authority police at his home a block away from the train station Wednesday.
Gonzalez was arraigned on 16 counts of voyeurism at state Superior Court in Stamford Thursday.
Judge Barbara Brazzel-Massaro ruled that Gonzalez, a Mexican native working in the country illegally, will be jailed in lieu of $50,000 bond for the Class D felony.
Gonzalez' defense attorney Howard Ehring said his client had little chance, if any of raising the money
A court translator reviews information for Felicitos Gonzalez during his arraignment on voyeurism charges Thursday at state Superior Court in Stamford. (Dru Nadler/Staff photo)to bond out.
Gonzalez' arrest by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority came after a 21-year-old woman used the ladies bathroom near the Dunkin' Donuts on the main floor of the train station late in the evening on Nov. 1, Gonzalez' arrest warrant says.
When the woman picked her book bag up off the floor, she tipped over a red plastic waste basked that contained five or six toilet paper rolls, she told police. As she picked up the rolls to place them back in the basket, one of the rolls felt heavy and started to beep, the warrant states.
"I ripped the toilet paper off of the roll and noticed that a camera phone had been taped to the roll. I turned the camera around and looked at the screen and noticed that it was recording the
bathroom stall," she said in her witness statement to the MTA.
The woman then got on the 11:30 p.m. train to Grand Central Station. Along the way she began looking at the recordings on the phone and found a video clip of a male Hispanic man wearing a green shirt as he set the phone into a stationary position and placed toilet rolls around it, the warrant said.
The woman also saw recordings of two other women going to the bathroom before turning off the phone, the warrant said.
Two days later the woman reported the camera to a police officer at a road job and he told her to call MTA police. That same day on Nov. 3 she talked to MTA Detective Sean Connolly about the phone and turned over the phone, which still had toilet paper taped around it, according to the warrant.
The next day a property manager for Fusco Management, which runs the train station, reviewed the video recordings and identified Gonzalez as the Hispanic man pictured on the camera phone.
Gonzalez, has for the past seven months worked for Suburban Contract Cleaning, a subcontractor hired by Fusco to clean and maintain the station.
Gonzalez has been in Connecticut for seven years according to the state bail commissioner and was identified by Sprint/Nextel as the phone's subscriber, the affidavit said. Inside the phone, authorities found three video files each two hours long.
In each of the videos Gonzalez is clearly seen cutting up pieces of toilet paper and taping the paper around the lens of the camera phone. He is then seen sitting down on the toilet seat to check the view on the phone screen, the affidavit said.
In reviewing the video recordings, Connolly saw 16 women enter the stall, pull down their pants and sit on the toilet seat, the affidavit said.
It is not clear when the recordings were made.
MTA Police Sgt. John Rizzitelli said, "We knew almost immediately he was one of the station cleaners... He denied it."
Police on Wednesday also seized a home computer from Gonzalez' bedroom which is being analyzed for further images at the Connecticut State Police Crime Lab in Meriden.
The U.S. Immigration, Customs, & Enforcement Agency was notified about the case, due to Gonzalez' immigration status.
Gonzalez is no longer working at the train station, Jason Fascella, Fusco's property manager at the station said, referring further questions to Fusco's headquarters and the DOT.
DOT spokesman Judd Everhart praised the MTA Police for making the arrest.
"The MTA Police are to be commended for quick action on these allegations of outrageous criminal behavior," Everhart said. "Connecticut commuters expect and deserve safe, clean conditions at every location."
In both Stamford and Bridgeport, Fusco subcontracts for various services, including cleaning and parking tasks, DOT Spokesman Kevin Nursick said.
In 2007, Fusco received about $2.5 million to manage the Stamford station, including the cost of the subcontractors, Nursick said.
The DOT requires that all firms doing business with it follow state and federal employment and immigration laws, Nursick said.
Stamford is the busiest station on the Metro North New Haven Line after Grand Central, with an average of 4,300 getting off the train there each day - 2,500 coming from other points in Connecticut and 1,800 from New York - during the morning rush.
AZ Drunk illegal kills teen
Gilbert band member killed in crash on way to parade
Suspect held; police say he was impaired
by Lindsey Collom and Beth Duckett - Nov. 16, 2008 12:00 AMThe Arizona Republic
Mesa police say an impaired driver triggered a crash early Saturday that killed a 16-year-old girl and injured her 17-year-old brother as they drove to a school-band event.
Manuel Contreras-Galdean, 32, was arrested and booked into a Maricopa County jail on suspicion of manslaughter and aggravated assault.
Authorities also placed an immigration hold on him after it was determined that he was in the country illegally.
Police said Contreras-Galdean was at the wheel of a red Dodge Ram about 6:30 a.m. when he turned left in front of a Nissan Sentra carrying the teens.
Their collision occurred at Guadalupe and Sossaman roads, according to Sgt. Ed Wessing, a Mesa police spokesman.
The teenage girl suffered massive head trauma. Her brother, the driver, had non-life-threatening injuries.
Police declined to identify the siblings, who were on their way to perform in the Gilbert Days Parade. Band members and parents confirmed the pair were students at Highland High School.
Jay Thompson, whose daughter Lauren is a freshman in the band, said he and his wife, Francy, arrived at the school on Saturday morning to volunteer.
"There was just shock and grief and sadness . . . it was just horrible," Thompson said. "We just all cried and hugged."
Band officials pulled out of the parade.
Mesa police said the girl died in the operating room.
Hayden Horsman, a freshman band member, said students were devastated.
"They were amazed that something could happen to somebody our age," said Horsman, 14.
Suspect held; police say he was impaired
by Lindsey Collom and Beth Duckett - Nov. 16, 2008 12:00 AMThe Arizona Republic
Mesa police say an impaired driver triggered a crash early Saturday that killed a 16-year-old girl and injured her 17-year-old brother as they drove to a school-band event.
Manuel Contreras-Galdean, 32, was arrested and booked into a Maricopa County jail on suspicion of manslaughter and aggravated assault.
Authorities also placed an immigration hold on him after it was determined that he was in the country illegally.
Police said Contreras-Galdean was at the wheel of a red Dodge Ram about 6:30 a.m. when he turned left in front of a Nissan Sentra carrying the teens.
Their collision occurred at Guadalupe and Sossaman roads, according to Sgt. Ed Wessing, a Mesa police spokesman.
The teenage girl suffered massive head trauma. Her brother, the driver, had non-life-threatening injuries.
Police declined to identify the siblings, who were on their way to perform in the Gilbert Days Parade. Band members and parents confirmed the pair were students at Highland High School.
Jay Thompson, whose daughter Lauren is a freshman in the band, said he and his wife, Francy, arrived at the school on Saturday morning to volunteer.
"There was just shock and grief and sadness . . . it was just horrible," Thompson said. "We just all cried and hugged."
Band officials pulled out of the parade.
Mesa police said the girl died in the operating room.
Hayden Horsman, a freshman band member, said students were devastated.
"They were amazed that something could happen to somebody our age," said Horsman, 14.
Friday, November 14, 2008
CA SF Illegal kid kills another kid
(11-13) 18:44 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A teenager accused of stabbing a 14-year-old boy to death in a gang-motivated attack had been given sanctuary from deportation under San Francisco's previous practice of shielding young illegal immigrant felons from federal authorities, records show.
Rony Aguilera, 17, known as "Guerrillero," has been charged as an adult in the July 31 sword attack in the Excelsior neighborhood that killed Ivan Miranda, who police say was an innocent victim caught up in an act of gang vengeance. Authorities believe Aguilera is an illegal immigrant from Honduras, but he was never referred to federal officials after being arrested last year in an assault case, according to records reviewed by The Chronicle.
Aguilera is the second person this year to be charged with murder in San Francisco after having been protected from possible deportation under city officials' now-discarded interpretation of a sanctuary ordinance that barred agencies from cooperating with federal efforts to round up illegal immigrants.
In June, Edwin Ramos, now 22, an alleged illegal immigrant from El Salvador who compiled a record of gang-related crimes as a juvenile, was accused of fatally shooting Anthony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, in their car in the Excelsior.
Police believe that, like Ramos, Aguilera is a member of the MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) gang.
He and 16-year-old Marlon Rivera were arrested last month and accused of killing Ivan on July 31 as the boy was walking to a friend's house to return an iPod he had borrowed. Rivera also has been charged as an adult with murder. Both are scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 26.
Aguilera's attorney, Theresa Marks, had no comment, other than to say that juvenile records reviewed by The Chronicle in Aguilera's case are confidential and that it is a misdemeanor to release them.
Earlier assault
At the time of the killing, Aguilera had been released from probation stemming from a gang-related assault that occurred when he was 16. Police said he had been identified as an MS-13 member at the time.
Authorities said Aguilera and another member of the gang assaulted a 16-year-old boy at Hill and Valencia streets in the Mission District on the afternoon of June 27, 2007. The victim was with friends when young men approached and demanded to know whether they were affiliated with a gang. Two assailants attacked the victim, kicking and beating him. He was treated at San Francisco General Hospital.
Aguilera was later identified as one of the attackers by the victim as well as two other witnesses, records of the case show. He was taken to Juvenile Hall and, the following month, admitted to assault and gang charges before a juvenile court judge, records show.
Authorities now say they believe he was in the country illegally from Honduras. But San Francisco juvenile authorities had long ordered their probation officers not to consider defendants' immigration status, under the Juvenile Probation Department's interpretation that such a move would violate the sanctuary city law.
As a result, Aguilera was not referred to federal immigration officials.
Instead, a juvenile court judge decided that he would live with his parents in Houston while being informally monitored from San Francisco, according to authorities with knowledge of the case.
A judge terminated his probation in December 2007. This year, he was back in the city.
Policy shift
In early July, after The Chronicle reported that the city had shielded dozens of young felons from deportation, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said the sanctuary law did not protect adult or juvenile criminals. Mayor Gavin Newsom declared that he had ordered juvenile justice officials to report illegal immigrant offenders to federal authorities.
Since then, the mayor has pledged a "top-to-bottom" review of the city's sanctuary policies and practices. His office did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.
Federal officials put an immigration hold on Aguilera after he was accused of killing Ivan, who was slain less than a month after Newsom publicly announced the city's policy shift. Aguilera is also being held on $2 million bail.
The city's former policy is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation. It is also at the heart of a legal case being developed by the Bologna family, which filed a claim against the city in August after Ramos' background was publicized. The claim, which the city denied last month, is the likely precursor to a lawsuit.
Revenge mission
According to police accounts, Ivan was stabbed on a street in the Excelsior neighborhood a few hours after the relative of an MS-13 member was wounded in a shooting. Gang members blamed the rival Norteño group, and several went looking for Norteños to attack, investigators said.
Ivan had no connection to the Norteños, police said, but the gang members attacked him anyway as he talked with two friends at the corner of Madrid and Persia streets.
The boy was stabbed with what police described as a Japanese-style sword and was robbed of the iPod he was returning to his friend. When he tried to run, two assailants chased him down and stabbed him through the neck, nearly decapitating him, police said.
His sister said Ivan, known as Little Mejo, was a well-behaved boy who knew at least one of the murder suspects, Rivera, as a troublemaker who got kicked out of Mission High. The boy had nothing to do with the Norteños or any other gang, she said.
The sister, who asked not to be identified by name because she fears for her safety, said youths who come to the United States and join gangs should not be allowed to stay here if they commit crimes.
"They should be arrested - they only are doing bad things to other people," she said. "Ivan was only 14 years old. They are 16, 17, 18. That's bad. They should be deported to their country."
Hours after Ivan was killed, suspects in the case met up with a federal informant who secretly taped the meeting.
Aguilera told the informant, "We stabbed the son of a bitch," according to a transcript of the conversation.
"There is no problem with this homeboy anymore," he said later.
Ivan's sister said the boy never had a chance in the street confrontation.
"Ivan was a kid. Ivan didn't have anything to protect himself," she said. "If they want to take an iPod, why should they be killing him? I don't understand that part."
The story so far
How San Francisco came to protect juvenile undocumented immigrant felons from possible deportation, and steps the city has taken.
Origins: In 1985, San Francisco declared itself a sanctuary city for immigrants seeking asylum from right-wing governments in El Salvador and Guatemala. Four years later, the city extended the policy to all immigrants and indicated that the city could not use its resources to help federal immigration law enforcement, except when required by federal law.
Criminals: In 1992 and 1993, the legislation was altered to allow law enforcement to report felony arrests of suspected undocumented immigrants to federal authorities. In 1994, the city attorney said juveniles booked on felony charges were not exempt from being reported.
Reinterpretation: Sometime in the 1990s, San Francisco officials began interpreting the ordinance along with state juvenile law as preventing them from referring undocumented immigrants in the juvenile justice system to federal authorities for deportation.
Free flights: Rather than send juvenile offenders through the deportation system, which could result in their being legally barred from ever returning to the United States, juvenile probation officials flew some directly to their homelands. Such flights were halted in May after federal officials complained.
Group homes: Still not wanting to turn over undocumented immigrant offenders for deportation, juvenile justice officials in May started sending young offenders to unlocked group homes. Most quickly escaped. Mayor Gavin Newsom said in July that he had ordered the practice halted.
S.F. shifts gears: In July, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said that nothing in the sanctuary city law prevents officials from turning over undocumented immigrant juveniles who commit felonies to federal immigration authorities. Newsom said the city had started cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Edwin Ramos: As the city began changing its policies, The Chronicle reported that Edwin Ramos, accused of killing three members of a family on an Excelsior district street June 22, was an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who had twice been in San Francisco's juvenile justice system but had never been referred to federal authorities.
Grand jury probe: In early October, city officials said a federal grand jury was investigating whether San Francisco's sanctuary policies violate U.S. laws against harboring people who are in the country illegally.
Rony Aguilera, 17, known as "Guerrillero," has been charged as an adult in the July 31 sword attack in the Excelsior neighborhood that killed Ivan Miranda, who police say was an innocent victim caught up in an act of gang vengeance. Authorities believe Aguilera is an illegal immigrant from Honduras, but he was never referred to federal officials after being arrested last year in an assault case, according to records reviewed by The Chronicle.
Aguilera is the second person this year to be charged with murder in San Francisco after having been protected from possible deportation under city officials' now-discarded interpretation of a sanctuary ordinance that barred agencies from cooperating with federal efforts to round up illegal immigrants.
In June, Edwin Ramos, now 22, an alleged illegal immigrant from El Salvador who compiled a record of gang-related crimes as a juvenile, was accused of fatally shooting Anthony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, in their car in the Excelsior.
Police believe that, like Ramos, Aguilera is a member of the MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) gang.
He and 16-year-old Marlon Rivera were arrested last month and accused of killing Ivan on July 31 as the boy was walking to a friend's house to return an iPod he had borrowed. Rivera also has been charged as an adult with murder. Both are scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 26.
Aguilera's attorney, Theresa Marks, had no comment, other than to say that juvenile records reviewed by The Chronicle in Aguilera's case are confidential and that it is a misdemeanor to release them.
Earlier assault
At the time of the killing, Aguilera had been released from probation stemming from a gang-related assault that occurred when he was 16. Police said he had been identified as an MS-13 member at the time.
Authorities said Aguilera and another member of the gang assaulted a 16-year-old boy at Hill and Valencia streets in the Mission District on the afternoon of June 27, 2007. The victim was with friends when young men approached and demanded to know whether they were affiliated with a gang. Two assailants attacked the victim, kicking and beating him. He was treated at San Francisco General Hospital.
Aguilera was later identified as one of the attackers by the victim as well as two other witnesses, records of the case show. He was taken to Juvenile Hall and, the following month, admitted to assault and gang charges before a juvenile court judge, records show.
Authorities now say they believe he was in the country illegally from Honduras. But San Francisco juvenile authorities had long ordered their probation officers not to consider defendants' immigration status, under the Juvenile Probation Department's interpretation that such a move would violate the sanctuary city law.
As a result, Aguilera was not referred to federal immigration officials.
Instead, a juvenile court judge decided that he would live with his parents in Houston while being informally monitored from San Francisco, according to authorities with knowledge of the case.
A judge terminated his probation in December 2007. This year, he was back in the city.
Policy shift
In early July, after The Chronicle reported that the city had shielded dozens of young felons from deportation, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said the sanctuary law did not protect adult or juvenile criminals. Mayor Gavin Newsom declared that he had ordered juvenile justice officials to report illegal immigrant offenders to federal authorities.
Since then, the mayor has pledged a "top-to-bottom" review of the city's sanctuary policies and practices. His office did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.
Federal officials put an immigration hold on Aguilera after he was accused of killing Ivan, who was slain less than a month after Newsom publicly announced the city's policy shift. Aguilera is also being held on $2 million bail.
The city's former policy is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation. It is also at the heart of a legal case being developed by the Bologna family, which filed a claim against the city in August after Ramos' background was publicized. The claim, which the city denied last month, is the likely precursor to a lawsuit.
Revenge mission
According to police accounts, Ivan was stabbed on a street in the Excelsior neighborhood a few hours after the relative of an MS-13 member was wounded in a shooting. Gang members blamed the rival Norteño group, and several went looking for Norteños to attack, investigators said.
Ivan had no connection to the Norteños, police said, but the gang members attacked him anyway as he talked with two friends at the corner of Madrid and Persia streets.
The boy was stabbed with what police described as a Japanese-style sword and was robbed of the iPod he was returning to his friend. When he tried to run, two assailants chased him down and stabbed him through the neck, nearly decapitating him, police said.
His sister said Ivan, known as Little Mejo, was a well-behaved boy who knew at least one of the murder suspects, Rivera, as a troublemaker who got kicked out of Mission High. The boy had nothing to do with the Norteños or any other gang, she said.
The sister, who asked not to be identified by name because she fears for her safety, said youths who come to the United States and join gangs should not be allowed to stay here if they commit crimes.
"They should be arrested - they only are doing bad things to other people," she said. "Ivan was only 14 years old. They are 16, 17, 18. That's bad. They should be deported to their country."
Hours after Ivan was killed, suspects in the case met up with a federal informant who secretly taped the meeting.
Aguilera told the informant, "We stabbed the son of a bitch," according to a transcript of the conversation.
"There is no problem with this homeboy anymore," he said later.
Ivan's sister said the boy never had a chance in the street confrontation.
"Ivan was a kid. Ivan didn't have anything to protect himself," she said. "If they want to take an iPod, why should they be killing him? I don't understand that part."
The story so far
How San Francisco came to protect juvenile undocumented immigrant felons from possible deportation, and steps the city has taken.
Origins: In 1985, San Francisco declared itself a sanctuary city for immigrants seeking asylum from right-wing governments in El Salvador and Guatemala. Four years later, the city extended the policy to all immigrants and indicated that the city could not use its resources to help federal immigration law enforcement, except when required by federal law.
Criminals: In 1992 and 1993, the legislation was altered to allow law enforcement to report felony arrests of suspected undocumented immigrants to federal authorities. In 1994, the city attorney said juveniles booked on felony charges were not exempt from being reported.
Reinterpretation: Sometime in the 1990s, San Francisco officials began interpreting the ordinance along with state juvenile law as preventing them from referring undocumented immigrants in the juvenile justice system to federal authorities for deportation.
Free flights: Rather than send juvenile offenders through the deportation system, which could result in their being legally barred from ever returning to the United States, juvenile probation officials flew some directly to their homelands. Such flights were halted in May after federal officials complained.
Group homes: Still not wanting to turn over undocumented immigrant offenders for deportation, juvenile justice officials in May started sending young offenders to unlocked group homes. Most quickly escaped. Mayor Gavin Newsom said in July that he had ordered the practice halted.
S.F. shifts gears: In July, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said that nothing in the sanctuary city law prevents officials from turning over undocumented immigrant juveniles who commit felonies to federal immigration authorities. Newsom said the city had started cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Edwin Ramos: As the city began changing its policies, The Chronicle reported that Edwin Ramos, accused of killing three members of a family on an Excelsior district street June 22, was an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who had twice been in San Francisco's juvenile justice system but had never been referred to federal authorities.
Grand jury probe: In early October, city officials said a federal grand jury was investigating whether San Francisco's sanctuary policies violate U.S. laws against harboring people who are in the country illegally.
MD Illegal gang banger murders honor student
Police Arrest One In Bus Shooting
Hector Mauricio Hernandez has been charged with murder.
By Joe Slaninka
Special to The Sentinel
Police say the man responsible for killing a Montgomery Blair High School honors student in an unprovoked shooting on a crowded bus is not only a member of a notorious street gang, but an illegal alien as well.
On Monday, Montgomery County police said they arrested a 20-year-old man and obtained warrants for two other suspects in connection with the murder of 14-year-old Tai Lam on Nov. 1.
Police arrested Hector Mauricio Hernandez, of Takoma Park, on Friday, Nov. 7 and charged him with first-degree murder, after he allegedly shot a handgun into a crowded bus after exiting, striking and killing Lam, 14, and injuring two other teenagers.
Hernandez, along with three to four other individuals, reportedly got into a verbal altercation with a large group of teenagers, before leaving the bus, according to police.
Cao Lam, Tai's 16-year-old brother, was on the bus at the time of the shooting and says there was no dispute and that the gunman was unprovoked. "It was like he was ready to shoot anybody," Cao said.
The three teens were transported to area hospitals where Lam eventually died from his injuries. The other two victims have been released and are expected to fully recover, police said.
Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said Hernandez is an illegal immigrant and a member of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, an international gang from Central America that has a very strong presence in the D.C. region.
"As far as the activities and membership of MS-13, it is one of the most prolific gangs in the area," said Captain Don Johnson, commander of District 3, where the murder occurred.
Police, along with several county officials, including County Executive Isiah Leggett and Councilmember Valerie Ervin, held a community meeting Monday, and discussed how to prevent these crimes from happening.
After a video was played containing Montgomery Blair students' stories of Lam and their farewells to him, and a statement made by Lam's sister, Quy Lam, thanking the community for their support of her and her family, police announced at the meeting that they obtained arrest warrants for two other suspects in the shooting.
Police said they are searching for Gilmar Leonardo Romero and Mario Ernesto Milan-Canales, who they said accompanied Hernandez at the time of the shooting. Romero will be charged with first-degree murder and Milan-Canales will be charged with accessory after the fact for first-degree murder, police said.
According to police, they believe that Romero and Milan-Canales are members of MS-13 as well. They are both described as Hispanic males, ages 20 and 30, respectively. Romero is 5-feet-1-inch tall, weighing 120 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. Milan-Canales is 5-feet-3-inches tall, weighing 140 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.
According to police, Hernandez was previously arrested on Oct. 3 and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a switch blade knife. "He was taken before the commissioner's office, and the commissioner released him on personal recognizance," Manger said.
According to Manger, there was no detainer put on Hernandez while he was in custody.
Brad Botwin, director of Help Save Maryland, said he is "blaming" Leggett for the murder because of his refusal to train police officers in accordance with Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. "Ike Leggett has blood on his hands as a result from the latest murder, and will only serve one term for his lawless ways," Botwin said.
Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act "authorizes the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies, permitting designated officers to perform immigration law enforcement functions ... provided that the local law enforcement officers receive appropriate training and function under the supervision of sworn U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers."
The Montgomery Blair students raised $5,000 last week to help pay for Lam's funeral and a scholarship fund, in honor of him, was proposed at the meeting as well, Monday night.
Sybil Brown, the president of the Student Government Association at Blair, said they plan to sell T-shirts with Lam's picture in memory of him. The proceeds will help fund a memorial that will be placed somewhere in the school, she said.
Hector Mauricio Hernandez has been charged with murder.
By Joe Slaninka
Special to The Sentinel
Police say the man responsible for killing a Montgomery Blair High School honors student in an unprovoked shooting on a crowded bus is not only a member of a notorious street gang, but an illegal alien as well.
On Monday, Montgomery County police said they arrested a 20-year-old man and obtained warrants for two other suspects in connection with the murder of 14-year-old Tai Lam on Nov. 1.
Police arrested Hector Mauricio Hernandez, of Takoma Park, on Friday, Nov. 7 and charged him with first-degree murder, after he allegedly shot a handgun into a crowded bus after exiting, striking and killing Lam, 14, and injuring two other teenagers.
Hernandez, along with three to four other individuals, reportedly got into a verbal altercation with a large group of teenagers, before leaving the bus, according to police.
Cao Lam, Tai's 16-year-old brother, was on the bus at the time of the shooting and says there was no dispute and that the gunman was unprovoked. "It was like he was ready to shoot anybody," Cao said.
The three teens were transported to area hospitals where Lam eventually died from his injuries. The other two victims have been released and are expected to fully recover, police said.
Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said Hernandez is an illegal immigrant and a member of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, an international gang from Central America that has a very strong presence in the D.C. region.
"As far as the activities and membership of MS-13, it is one of the most prolific gangs in the area," said Captain Don Johnson, commander of District 3, where the murder occurred.
Police, along with several county officials, including County Executive Isiah Leggett and Councilmember Valerie Ervin, held a community meeting Monday, and discussed how to prevent these crimes from happening.
After a video was played containing Montgomery Blair students' stories of Lam and their farewells to him, and a statement made by Lam's sister, Quy Lam, thanking the community for their support of her and her family, police announced at the meeting that they obtained arrest warrants for two other suspects in the shooting.
Police said they are searching for Gilmar Leonardo Romero and Mario Ernesto Milan-Canales, who they said accompanied Hernandez at the time of the shooting. Romero will be charged with first-degree murder and Milan-Canales will be charged with accessory after the fact for first-degree murder, police said.
According to police, they believe that Romero and Milan-Canales are members of MS-13 as well. They are both described as Hispanic males, ages 20 and 30, respectively. Romero is 5-feet-1-inch tall, weighing 120 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. Milan-Canales is 5-feet-3-inches tall, weighing 140 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.
According to police, Hernandez was previously arrested on Oct. 3 and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a switch blade knife. "He was taken before the commissioner's office, and the commissioner released him on personal recognizance," Manger said.
According to Manger, there was no detainer put on Hernandez while he was in custody.
Brad Botwin, director of Help Save Maryland, said he is "blaming" Leggett for the murder because of his refusal to train police officers in accordance with Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. "Ike Leggett has blood on his hands as a result from the latest murder, and will only serve one term for his lawless ways," Botwin said.
Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act "authorizes the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies, permitting designated officers to perform immigration law enforcement functions ... provided that the local law enforcement officers receive appropriate training and function under the supervision of sworn U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers."
The Montgomery Blair students raised $5,000 last week to help pay for Lam's funeral and a scholarship fund, in honor of him, was proposed at the meeting as well, Monday night.
Sybil Brown, the president of the Student Government Association at Blair, said they plan to sell T-shirts with Lam's picture in memory of him. The proceeds will help fund a memorial that will be placed somewhere in the school, she said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
