In violence sparked over romantic jealousy, a Chicago man is accused of gunning down an Addison high school senior on the eve of his graduation.
Luis Villavicencio-Serna, 19, was ordered held Wednesday in the DuPage County jail on a $5 million cash bond. Prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder.
Police at 3:33 a.m. Saturday rushed to a 911 call of shots fired in an apartment complex parking lot on the 300 block of Dale Drive in Addison.
Armando Huerta Jr., 18, was conscious, but suffered gunshot wounds to his leg and lower back. The Addison Trail High School student, who lived in the apartment complex, was pronounced dead 14 hours later at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood.
A makeshift memorial remained erected Wednesday outside his apartment, where he lived with his family, including cousin Andres Chavez.
"We're all trying to remain strong," said Chavez, 20. "He was a really shy guy who loved to dance, work out and fix cars. He was counting the days until he graduated and was going to go back to Mexico for a big vacation."
Detectives caught a break in the murder investigation when they searched the slain teen's cellular phone and found a text message from a 16-year-old girl who had warned him to stop calling because it was angering her boyfriend.
Huerta and the girl previously dated, officials said.
"The defendant became angry and jealous with the victim for having continued contact with the defendant's girlfriend," prosecutor Thomas O'Connor told Associate Judge Peter Ostling. "Upon seeing the victim, he has some sort of hostile verbal altercation and then opened fired on him."
Police recovered five bullet casings at the crime scene, but Huerta suffered two gunshot wounds. A bullet in his back left him paralyzed when it severed an artery and ended up lodged in the teen's vertebrae.
Police said no one else is expected to be charged, but their investigation is ongoing.
"We've talked to dozens of witnesses and expect to obtain more information once we are done our search warrants and subpoenas are complete," said Addison police Detective Commander Mark Van Stedum.
He said the violence had "gang undertones," but that the girl was the "common thread" between Huerta and Villavicencio-Serna.
"Armando was never involved in a gang," his cousin, Chavez, said. "He had friends who were gang members a long time ago but we stopped hanging around with them because we didn't want to get into trouble."
Police caught up on Sunday with Villavicencio-Serna at his Chicago workplace. They also interviewed three witnesses who were with the defendant in a Cadillac that morning who said they saw him shoot Huerta. It is alleged the group circled Huerta's complex at least once before the fatal shooting.
Villavicencio-Serna, of the 2300 block of South Hamlin Avenue, Chicago, repeatedly shook his head "no" Wednesday as O'Connor detailed the allegations in bond court. Judge Ostling appointed a DuPage County assistant public defender to represent Villavicencio-Serna, who spoke through a Spanish interpreter.
O'Connor sought the high bond after arguing the defendant poses a flight risk because he is in the country illegally and still has family in Mexico, where he was born.
Huerta is survived by his parents, a 14-year-old brother and infant sister. Chavez said Huerta was born in the U.S., but his remains will be sent back to Mexico, where many relatives live.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
NC Drunk illegal kills boy CONVICTED
And another drunk driving illegal.........
Hernandez escaped several DWI convictions.
Boy's death means prison for Johnston man
Man repeatedly accused of DWI may then be deported
BY MANDY LOCKE, Staff Writer SMITHFIELD - Hipolito Zamora Hernandez didn't know 7-year-old Marcus Lassiter. He never meant him any particular harm; he never laid a hand on the boy.
But a jury decided Thursday that Hernandez had murdered Marcus, drinking himself nearly blind April 13, 2008, before driving a two-ton Chevrolet Camaro along the rural road beside which Marcus played.
Hernandez, a slight man who had carved out a life in Johnston County pouring concrete, could spend as long as 20 years in prison for second-degree murder. Immigration officials have vowed to deport him to Mexico after his release; he was living in the United States illegally.
On Thursday, moments before he was taken to prison, Hernandez, 31, declined the chance to say anything to the judge or to Marcus' family.
"The only thing that will stop this defendant from drinking and driving and risking everyone's life is prison," Susan Doyle, Johnston County district attorney, told the judge. She asked him to hand down the stiffest sentence. "He never learned his lesson," she said.
Hernandez evaded conviction several times before he killed Marcus. Three times since 2004, the courts dismissed driving-while-impaired charges. In 2007, when Hernandez was stopped again, he gave the officer a fake name. When he hit Marcus, another charge was pending against Hernandez.
"I am mad with the system," Marcus' mother, Sheila Lassiter, said Thursday. "I have no idea how this man got away with so much."
Doyle said Hernandez's record befuddled her, too. Last spring, Doyle instituted a policy prohibiting her assistants from dismissing DWI charges in an attempt to increase conviction rates.
A shattering death
Marcus' death shook Johnston County. It shattered his family.
His mother now spends evenings curled in his bed, trying to catch his lingering scent on his pajamas. Marcus was her youngest and an undeniable mama's boy. He was learning to play the drums at church; he had a tender heart and a hug for everyone he met, his family said.
His final day was as close to perfect as lazy spring Sundays can be.
The family had gathered at his grandmother's house in Four Oaks. Grandma and all the aunts were fixing supper in the kitchen. Kids played outside, plotting a game of basketball with some neighbor children.
The roar of a car engine pierced the calm. The women rushed to the window to check on the commotion. Sheila Lassiter saw her baby boy fly, knocked into the air by an out-of-control Camaro.
"That picture has stayed in my mind every waking minute since," Lassiter said as she waited for a jury to determine Hernandez's fate.
Lassiter raced to the yard, shouting Marcus' name. He lay still and silent in a ditch.
Hernandez stumbled from the cockeyed car, looked Lassiter's way and bolted toward a thicket of woods near Parkertown Road. It took a crew of officers and a specially trained canine about 45 minutes to capture him. Later, at the jail, more than two and a half hours after the crash, Hernandez's blood alcohol level registered .21. It is illegal to drive in North Carolina with a blood alcohol level of .08 or greater.
Marcus never woke after the crash. His brain was dead. Doctors kept his body alive through the night.
Now, pieces of him live on. Marcus' eyes gave a blind man sight. His kidney gave a 14-year-old the health to play basketball again. "That is my solace," Sheila Lassiter said.
Hernandez escaped several DWI convictions.
Boy's death means prison for Johnston man
Man repeatedly accused of DWI may then be deported
BY MANDY LOCKE, Staff Writer SMITHFIELD - Hipolito Zamora Hernandez didn't know 7-year-old Marcus Lassiter. He never meant him any particular harm; he never laid a hand on the boy.
But a jury decided Thursday that Hernandez had murdered Marcus, drinking himself nearly blind April 13, 2008, before driving a two-ton Chevrolet Camaro along the rural road beside which Marcus played.
Hernandez, a slight man who had carved out a life in Johnston County pouring concrete, could spend as long as 20 years in prison for second-degree murder. Immigration officials have vowed to deport him to Mexico after his release; he was living in the United States illegally.
On Thursday, moments before he was taken to prison, Hernandez, 31, declined the chance to say anything to the judge or to Marcus' family.
"The only thing that will stop this defendant from drinking and driving and risking everyone's life is prison," Susan Doyle, Johnston County district attorney, told the judge. She asked him to hand down the stiffest sentence. "He never learned his lesson," she said.
Hernandez evaded conviction several times before he killed Marcus. Three times since 2004, the courts dismissed driving-while-impaired charges. In 2007, when Hernandez was stopped again, he gave the officer a fake name. When he hit Marcus, another charge was pending against Hernandez.
"I am mad with the system," Marcus' mother, Sheila Lassiter, said Thursday. "I have no idea how this man got away with so much."
Doyle said Hernandez's record befuddled her, too. Last spring, Doyle instituted a policy prohibiting her assistants from dismissing DWI charges in an attempt to increase conviction rates.
A shattering death
Marcus' death shook Johnston County. It shattered his family.
His mother now spends evenings curled in his bed, trying to catch his lingering scent on his pajamas. Marcus was her youngest and an undeniable mama's boy. He was learning to play the drums at church; he had a tender heart and a hug for everyone he met, his family said.
His final day was as close to perfect as lazy spring Sundays can be.
The family had gathered at his grandmother's house in Four Oaks. Grandma and all the aunts were fixing supper in the kitchen. Kids played outside, plotting a game of basketball with some neighbor children.
The roar of a car engine pierced the calm. The women rushed to the window to check on the commotion. Sheila Lassiter saw her baby boy fly, knocked into the air by an out-of-control Camaro.
"That picture has stayed in my mind every waking minute since," Lassiter said as she waited for a jury to determine Hernandez's fate.
Lassiter raced to the yard, shouting Marcus' name. He lay still and silent in a ditch.
Hernandez stumbled from the cockeyed car, looked Lassiter's way and bolted toward a thicket of woods near Parkertown Road. It took a crew of officers and a specially trained canine about 45 minutes to capture him. Later, at the jail, more than two and a half hours after the crash, Hernandez's blood alcohol level registered .21. It is illegal to drive in North Carolina with a blood alcohol level of .08 or greater.
Marcus never woke after the crash. His brain was dead. Doctors kept his body alive through the night.
Now, pieces of him live on. Marcus' eyes gave a blind man sight. His kidney gave a 14-year-old the health to play basketball again. "That is my solace," Sheila Lassiter said.
IA Illegal rapist and murderer
Here we go again.........
Police: Intruder killed child while parents slept
By Meagan Sextonmsexton@siouxcityjournal.com Posted: Sunday, May 24, 2009
SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- A 29-year-old man is in custody after he allegedly sexually assaulted and killed a 3-year-old girl early Saturday morning as her family slept inside their South Sioux City home.Mercy Medical Center -- Sioux City notified South Sioux City police around 5 a.m. after a 3-year-old girl was brought to the facility and pronounced dead on arrival, South Sioux City Police Chief Scot Ford said. Ford said the girl's mother discovered her after waking to feed another infant child."The perp broke into the house, sexually assaulted the child by raping and sodomizing her and then the child was killed. We believe by suffocation," Ford said. "The parents and two other family members were asleep at the residence when this occurred."Police said another young child who was at the home, which police described as small but with at least two bedrooms, helped them identify the suspect as De Jesus Melisio-Camacho, who was living in Sioux City with several other men. Melisio-Camacho is charged with first-degree murder, sexual assault and burglary, all felonies.Ford said police and officials with Immigration Customs Enforcement are examining Melisio-Camacho's immigration status.Ford said an officer stopped Melisio-Camacho near the home at 3:45 a.m. Saturday but let him go, unaware of the crime he's accused of committing. That contact, however, helped police put the suspect in the area when they believe the crime occurred, between 1 and 3:30 a.m.Ford said it has been determined the suspect was an acquaintance of the family, but a motive is not yet known."We do not have an actual motive at this point," Ford said. "That is probably one of the most exasperating parts of it."Ford declined to offer more information regarding the case.Sioux City Police Sgt. Mike Post said the suspect was found and taken into custody prior to 6 a.m. in Sioux City."The cooperation on this investigation was just outstanding," Ford said. "We had extreme cooperation from the Sioux City Police Department, Mercy's Child Advocacy Center, Nebraska State Patrol and from ICE officials out of Sioux City."Melisio-Camacho is being held for Nebraska in the Woodbury County Jail.Ford said officials will be filing extradition warrants to return the suspect to Nebraska, but there isn't a timeframe because of the holiday weekend."We don't know if he'll waive or fight extradition," he said. "At this point we are continuing to gather and analyze physical evidence in preparation of the case against him."
Police: Intruder killed child while parents slept
By Meagan Sextonmsexton@siouxcityjournal.com Posted: Sunday, May 24, 2009
SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- A 29-year-old man is in custody after he allegedly sexually assaulted and killed a 3-year-old girl early Saturday morning as her family slept inside their South Sioux City home.Mercy Medical Center -- Sioux City notified South Sioux City police around 5 a.m. after a 3-year-old girl was brought to the facility and pronounced dead on arrival, South Sioux City Police Chief Scot Ford said. Ford said the girl's mother discovered her after waking to feed another infant child."The perp broke into the house, sexually assaulted the child by raping and sodomizing her and then the child was killed. We believe by suffocation," Ford said. "The parents and two other family members were asleep at the residence when this occurred."Police said another young child who was at the home, which police described as small but with at least two bedrooms, helped them identify the suspect as De Jesus Melisio-Camacho, who was living in Sioux City with several other men. Melisio-Camacho is charged with first-degree murder, sexual assault and burglary, all felonies.Ford said police and officials with Immigration Customs Enforcement are examining Melisio-Camacho's immigration status.Ford said an officer stopped Melisio-Camacho near the home at 3:45 a.m. Saturday but let him go, unaware of the crime he's accused of committing. That contact, however, helped police put the suspect in the area when they believe the crime occurred, between 1 and 3:30 a.m.Ford said it has been determined the suspect was an acquaintance of the family, but a motive is not yet known."We do not have an actual motive at this point," Ford said. "That is probably one of the most exasperating parts of it."Ford declined to offer more information regarding the case.Sioux City Police Sgt. Mike Post said the suspect was found and taken into custody prior to 6 a.m. in Sioux City."The cooperation on this investigation was just outstanding," Ford said. "We had extreme cooperation from the Sioux City Police Department, Mercy's Child Advocacy Center, Nebraska State Patrol and from ICE officials out of Sioux City."Melisio-Camacho is being held for Nebraska in the Woodbury County Jail.Ford said officials will be filing extradition warrants to return the suspect to Nebraska, but there isn't a timeframe because of the holiday weekend."We don't know if he'll waive or fight extradition," he said. "At this point we are continuing to gather and analyze physical evidence in preparation of the case against him."
Monday, May 18, 2009
NY Illegals run brothel
Newsday.com
Cops: Southampton brothel busted
BY DAVID J. LOPEZ
9:33 PM EDT, May 18, 2009
Two men and two women were arrested after a probe determined that a Southampton man was running a brothel out of his home, police said.
Luis Ortiz-Parra, 37, brought prostitutes from as far as Queens to serve "a clientele of between 30 and 40 johns each night of the week," Southampton Town police said in a Saturday news release announcing the four arrests and the brothel's closure.
Ortiz-Parra, of 46 Longview Rd., was charged with third-degree promoting prostitution, a felony, and second-degree criminal nuisance, a misdemeanor, police said. Two Queens women, ages 31 and 33, were charged with prostitution, a misdemeanor.
Pablo Estanle Calle Mendez, 34, of West Neck Road, Southampton, was charged with third-degree patronizing a prostitute, a misdemeanor, police said. The four suspects are in the United States illegally and were reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they said.
The arrests came as a result of an undercover investigation by the town police Street Crime Unit, which looked into a reported house of prostitution at Ortiz-Parra's home, authorities said.
Two women worked each evening, and Parra paid them $20 per customer and he would collect between $30 and $40, netting him a daily profit of $300 to $800, police said.
The investigation is continuing and more arrests are expected, police said.
Cops: Southampton brothel busted
BY DAVID J. LOPEZ
9:33 PM EDT, May 18, 2009
Two men and two women were arrested after a probe determined that a Southampton man was running a brothel out of his home, police said.
Luis Ortiz-Parra, 37, brought prostitutes from as far as Queens to serve "a clientele of between 30 and 40 johns each night of the week," Southampton Town police said in a Saturday news release announcing the four arrests and the brothel's closure.
Ortiz-Parra, of 46 Longview Rd., was charged with third-degree promoting prostitution, a felony, and second-degree criminal nuisance, a misdemeanor, police said. Two Queens women, ages 31 and 33, were charged with prostitution, a misdemeanor.
Pablo Estanle Calle Mendez, 34, of West Neck Road, Southampton, was charged with third-degree patronizing a prostitute, a misdemeanor, police said. The four suspects are in the United States illegally and were reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they said.
The arrests came as a result of an undercover investigation by the town police Street Crime Unit, which looked into a reported house of prostitution at Ortiz-Parra's home, authorities said.
Two women worked each evening, and Parra paid them $20 per customer and he would collect between $30 and $40, netting him a daily profit of $300 to $800, police said.
The investigation is continuing and more arrests are expected, police said.
DC Illegal hog ties widows
Illegal immigrant convicted of hog-tyings, murderBy: Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
05/16/09 10:05 PM EDT
A 34-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador was found guilty of murdering a 63-year-old Bethesda woman and hog-tying and robbing three other widows.
A Montgomery County jury on Friday agreed with prosecutors that Jose Garcia-Perlera attacked the elderly women in their homes along the River Road corridor in Bethesda, Potomac and Chevy Chase. He beat Mary Havenstein, the woman in his last attack, to death.
When Garcia-Perlera was arrested in October, his case became the first of several attacks allegedly committed by illegal immigrants in Montgomery County that got media attention. Those crimes, including the shooting death of 14-year-old Tai Lam on a county bus, eventually led County Executive Ike Leggett to change the county’s policy regarding illegal immigrants. As of January, anyone accused of certain violent crimes has their name sent to federal officials who check their immigration status. The attacks against the four widowed women shook one of the wealthiest sections of the county to the core. As Garcia-Perlera’s attorney Samuel Delgado put it in his closing arguments Friday, “We know from evidence that we’re talking about affluent neighborhoods ... beautiful homes, beautiful lawns and art.”
“When something happens out there, the police respond and they respond quickly,” he said.
That they did, pressing hard on the investigation that stretched from the first attack in September 2007 and through Havenstein’s September 2008 murder.
Police collected Garcia-Perlera’s DNA evidence from three of the crime scenes, although they didn’t know it was his until after his Oct. 15 arrest. On that day, police searched his apartment and found dozens of items stolen from the women’s homes.
Delgado argued that although Garcia-Perlera was a thief who “dabbled” in buying stolen property, “a thief does not a murderer make.”
But the jury was not convinced.
On Friday, they convicted Garcia-Perlera of murdering Havenstein. Added to that were four counts of burglary, four counts of false imprisonment for hog-tying the women, three counts of robbery, one count of armed robbery and one count of first-degree assault.
In his closing argument Friday, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy described the hog-tying and beatings the women received as “overkill.”
“He treated these women like animals,” McCarthy said. “You don’t hog-tie people, you hog-tie animals.”
He could be sentenced to prison for hundreds of years.
Examiner Staff Writer
05/16/09 10:05 PM EDT
A 34-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador was found guilty of murdering a 63-year-old Bethesda woman and hog-tying and robbing three other widows.
A Montgomery County jury on Friday agreed with prosecutors that Jose Garcia-Perlera attacked the elderly women in their homes along the River Road corridor in Bethesda, Potomac and Chevy Chase. He beat Mary Havenstein, the woman in his last attack, to death.
When Garcia-Perlera was arrested in October, his case became the first of several attacks allegedly committed by illegal immigrants in Montgomery County that got media attention. Those crimes, including the shooting death of 14-year-old Tai Lam on a county bus, eventually led County Executive Ike Leggett to change the county’s policy regarding illegal immigrants. As of January, anyone accused of certain violent crimes has their name sent to federal officials who check their immigration status. The attacks against the four widowed women shook one of the wealthiest sections of the county to the core. As Garcia-Perlera’s attorney Samuel Delgado put it in his closing arguments Friday, “We know from evidence that we’re talking about affluent neighborhoods ... beautiful homes, beautiful lawns and art.”
“When something happens out there, the police respond and they respond quickly,” he said.
That they did, pressing hard on the investigation that stretched from the first attack in September 2007 and through Havenstein’s September 2008 murder.
Police collected Garcia-Perlera’s DNA evidence from three of the crime scenes, although they didn’t know it was his until after his Oct. 15 arrest. On that day, police searched his apartment and found dozens of items stolen from the women’s homes.
Delgado argued that although Garcia-Perlera was a thief who “dabbled” in buying stolen property, “a thief does not a murderer make.”
But the jury was not convinced.
On Friday, they convicted Garcia-Perlera of murdering Havenstein. Added to that were four counts of burglary, four counts of false imprisonment for hog-tying the women, three counts of robbery, one count of armed robbery and one count of first-degree assault.
In his closing argument Friday, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy described the hog-tying and beatings the women received as “overkill.”
“He treated these women like animals,” McCarthy said. “You don’t hog-tie people, you hog-tie animals.”
He could be sentenced to prison for hundreds of years.
OK Illegal brothers murder
Illegal Immigrant Brothers Arrested For Homicide
posted 2:35 pm Mon May 18, 2009 - Woodward
from NewsChannel 8 - http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0509/623871.html
Two illegal immigrant brothers have been arrested in connection with the strangulation death of another man in Woodward County.It happened over the weekend in Mooreland. That's in northwestern Oklahoma, about 185 miles west of Tulsa. Officials say Antonio Velasquez left his job at a hog farm to collect money from another man who also worked at the hog farm.Investigators say Velasquez went to the home of brothers Julio Juarez Ramos and Isidio Juarez Ramos, where Velasquez was strangled to death. Authorities say the brothers dumped Velasquez's body near an oil lease south of Mooreland.Enid police spotted the brothers driving Velasquez's car after a "be on the lookout" message was issued. Both were arrested and eventually led officials to Velasquez's body on Sunday.Both brothers have been booked into the Woodward County Jail on complaints of first-degree murder. The OSBI says the brothers are illegal immigrants from Guatemala.
posted 2:35 pm Mon May 18, 2009 - Woodward
from NewsChannel 8 - http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0509/623871.html
Two illegal immigrant brothers have been arrested in connection with the strangulation death of another man in Woodward County.It happened over the weekend in Mooreland. That's in northwestern Oklahoma, about 185 miles west of Tulsa. Officials say Antonio Velasquez left his job at a hog farm to collect money from another man who also worked at the hog farm.Investigators say Velasquez went to the home of brothers Julio Juarez Ramos and Isidio Juarez Ramos, where Velasquez was strangled to death. Authorities say the brothers dumped Velasquez's body near an oil lease south of Mooreland.Enid police spotted the brothers driving Velasquez's car after a "be on the lookout" message was issued. Both were arrested and eventually led officials to Velasquez's body on Sunday.Both brothers have been booked into the Woodward County Jail on complaints of first-degree murder. The OSBI says the brothers are illegal immigrants from Guatemala.
TN Mother's Day murder
Man Wanted for Mother's Day Murder Captured in Mount Airy
Staff Writer
May 17, 2009
A man wanted in connection with the Mother's Day murder of a Tennessee woman has been captured in the Piedmont.U.S. Marshals arrested Carmen Vences Friday in Mount Airy. He has been transferred to the Forsyth County jail.The Knoxville News Sentinel reports Vences is accused of killing Adelina Delasancha at a May 10 party in Morristown, which is in northeastern Tennessee.Authorities said Delasancha, 40, is the mother of Vences' five children. Her youngest children reportedly saw Vences shoot their mother.There is a discrepancy regarding Vences name and age. Tennessee authorities are searching for Carmen Vences, age 41. Jail officials have the suspect listed as Carmello Vences with an age of 43.Authorities believe they have captured the right person.Vences faces first degree murder charges in Hamblen County, Tennessee.
Staff Writer
May 17, 2009
A man wanted in connection with the Mother's Day murder of a Tennessee woman has been captured in the Piedmont.U.S. Marshals arrested Carmen Vences Friday in Mount Airy. He has been transferred to the Forsyth County jail.The Knoxville News Sentinel reports Vences is accused of killing Adelina Delasancha at a May 10 party in Morristown, which is in northeastern Tennessee.Authorities said Delasancha, 40, is the mother of Vences' five children. Her youngest children reportedly saw Vences shoot their mother.There is a discrepancy regarding Vences name and age. Tennessee authorities are searching for Carmen Vences, age 41. Jail officials have the suspect listed as Carmello Vences with an age of 43.Authorities believe they have captured the right person.Vences faces first degree murder charges in Hamblen County, Tennessee.
NC Rape suspect
More charges filed against man accused of Rape
May 18, 2009 - 3:07 PM
Times-News
A man charged last week with raping a girl faced additional charges Monday.
The Alamance County Sheriff's Department charged Marco Antonio Lopez, 34, of Kernodle Lane, Graham with first-degree sex offense, indecent liberties with a minor and incest. The additional charges involve the same girl, who authorities say is younger than 16, according to a sheriff's department news release.
Lopez was charged Thursday with first-degree rape of a child after the sheriff's department was contacted by the Department of Social Services. He was in Alamance County jail under $200,000 bond.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed an immigration detainer against Lopez.
May 18, 2009 - 3:07 PM
Times-News
A man charged last week with raping a girl faced additional charges Monday.
The Alamance County Sheriff's Department charged Marco Antonio Lopez, 34, of Kernodle Lane, Graham with first-degree sex offense, indecent liberties with a minor and incest. The additional charges involve the same girl, who authorities say is younger than 16, according to a sheriff's department news release.
Lopez was charged Thursday with first-degree rape of a child after the sheriff's department was contacted by the Department of Social Services. He was in Alamance County jail under $200,000 bond.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed an immigration detainer against Lopez.
CA Illegal kidnapper of girl
Kidnapping suspect on immigration hold
By From staff reportsOriginally published 08:17 a.m., May 18, 2009Updated 02:01 p.m., May 18, 2009
The man arrested in connection with the abduction of a toddler from her Oxnard home last week is ineligible for bail because of an alleged immigration violation, according to jail booking records.
Carlos Garcia Morales, 23, of Oxnard is being held on suspicion of entering the country illegally in addition to charges of kidnapping, rape and burglary, booking records show.
Garcia Morales was also booked into jail on warrants for misdemeanor drunken driving and battery. He was found guilty in March 2008 of driving under the influence of alcohol, and he pled guilty in August 2008 to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge, records show.
When he pleaded guilty to the battery charge, Garcia Morales pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor sex charge, which was later dismissed.
Garcia Morales was arrested early Friday morning after authorities found him in a car with a 20-month-old girl abducted from her home in the 100 block of South McKinley Avenue less than two hours before, police said.
Garcia Morales allegedly entered the child’s home, took her from her parents’ bed and left on foot, police said. Detectives believe he was unknown to the victim.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Ventura County Superior Court.
By From staff reportsOriginally published 08:17 a.m., May 18, 2009Updated 02:01 p.m., May 18, 2009
The man arrested in connection with the abduction of a toddler from her Oxnard home last week is ineligible for bail because of an alleged immigration violation, according to jail booking records.
Carlos Garcia Morales, 23, of Oxnard is being held on suspicion of entering the country illegally in addition to charges of kidnapping, rape and burglary, booking records show.
Garcia Morales was also booked into jail on warrants for misdemeanor drunken driving and battery. He was found guilty in March 2008 of driving under the influence of alcohol, and he pled guilty in August 2008 to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge, records show.
When he pleaded guilty to the battery charge, Garcia Morales pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor sex charge, which was later dismissed.
Garcia Morales was arrested early Friday morning after authorities found him in a car with a 20-month-old girl abducted from her home in the 100 block of South McKinley Avenue less than two hours before, police said.
Garcia Morales allegedly entered the child’s home, took her from her parents’ bed and left on foot, police said. Detectives believe he was unknown to the victim.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Ventura County Superior Court.
CA Illegal kidnappers
2 illegal immigrants accused of taking Southern California boy
Associated Press
Posted: 05/18/2009 06:42:10 PM PDT
Updated: 05/18/2009 06:42:12 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Arrest warrants have been issued for two illegal immigrants suspected of bursting into a family's home and kidnapping a 3-year-old who was later found wandering the streets in Mexico, authorities said Monday.
The suspects, both believed to be hiding in Mexico, are accused of taking Briant Rodriguez on May 3 after tying up his mother and four of his siblings. No motive has been released.
Authorities said they found evidence at the crime scene that links Israel Ledesma Moreno, 27, and Liberato Vega, 30, to the kidnapping. State and federal warrants were issued against both men, who were in the country illegally and have a history of minor crimes in Southern California, FBI and San Bernardino County sheriff's officials said.
Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Phelps declined to comment on whether the men knew Briant's family.
Mexican authorities found Briant wandering the streets of Mexicali and contacted U.S. authorities, who brought him back across the border and reunited him with his mother on Saturday.
Phelps said the boy was mildly malnourished and remained in the hospital Monday for observation.
Officials said they also want to interview Vega's girlfriend, 21-year-old Claudia Acosta-Serrano.
Vega and Moreno have been arrested in recent years for several alleged offenses, including drunken driving, drug use, driving with a suspended license and lying to police. The FBI said the pair had also been charged with fleeing California to avoid state charges and had previously been deported.
Detectives had few leads on the kidnapping until a surveillance camera from a store showed the suspect's faces the day Briant was kidnapped from his home in a lower-income area near the city of San Bernardino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
Associated Press
Posted: 05/18/2009 06:42:10 PM PDT
Updated: 05/18/2009 06:42:12 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Arrest warrants have been issued for two illegal immigrants suspected of bursting into a family's home and kidnapping a 3-year-old who was later found wandering the streets in Mexico, authorities said Monday.
The suspects, both believed to be hiding in Mexico, are accused of taking Briant Rodriguez on May 3 after tying up his mother and four of his siblings. No motive has been released.
Authorities said they found evidence at the crime scene that links Israel Ledesma Moreno, 27, and Liberato Vega, 30, to the kidnapping. State and federal warrants were issued against both men, who were in the country illegally and have a history of minor crimes in Southern California, FBI and San Bernardino County sheriff's officials said.
Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Phelps declined to comment on whether the men knew Briant's family.
Mexican authorities found Briant wandering the streets of Mexicali and contacted U.S. authorities, who brought him back across the border and reunited him with his mother on Saturday.
Phelps said the boy was mildly malnourished and remained in the hospital Monday for observation.
Officials said they also want to interview Vega's girlfriend, 21-year-old Claudia Acosta-Serrano.
Vega and Moreno have been arrested in recent years for several alleged offenses, including drunken driving, drug use, driving with a suspended license and lying to police. The FBI said the pair had also been charged with fleeing California to avoid state charges and had previously been deported.
Detectives had few leads on the kidnapping until a surveillance camera from a store showed the suspect's faces the day Briant was kidnapped from his home in a lower-income area near the city of San Bernardino, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.
Friday, March 20, 2009
MO Illegal kills 2
Mo. town outraged over killings, illegal immigrant
Mar 20 12:50 PM US/EasternBy JIM SALTERAssociated Press Writer
HANNIBAL, Mo. (AP) - A Hannibal police officer was finishing up mundane paperwork on a quiet Saturday morning when Manuel Cazares walked into the station, blood splattered on his hands and shoes.
Cazares put his hands out, crossed them, and told the officer to arrest him.
"I killed two people," he allegedly said.
Details surrounding the allegations are far too common: an abusive relationship, a jilted lover, a sudden attack.
But some in this Mississippi River community of 17,000 best known as Mark Twain's hometown aren't just outraged by the violence. They also question why Cazares was in Hannibal at all.
Cazares admitted after his arrest that he is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. The 32-year-old had several run-ins with law enforcement before the homicides, but officials had never questioned his legal status.
Now he is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Feb. 28 deaths of his ex-girlfriend, 27-year-old Amanda Thomas, and 25-year-old Carl Patrick Epley.
"I don't know how this happens," said Tina White-Masengill, Thomas' sister. "My stepdad told police many times, 'I don't even think the guy's a legal citizen.'"
During his three years in Hannibal, Cazares managed to avoid detection, despite a few traffic violations and a property damage conviction after an arrest for allegedly beating up Thomas and tearing up her home. Thomas had a restraining order against Cazares, who got probation in the property-damage case.
Police say his name wasn't in a database maintained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Police and Cazares' boss also say he had authentic-looking identification, including a Social Security card. And police noted that Cazares speaks fluent English.
Cazares' attorney did not return phone messages seeking comment. Cazares is being held in lieu of $1 million bond.
Hannibal police declined several interview requests from The Associated Press, but said soon after the killing that they had received several angry calls, some with racial overtones.
Days after the killings, rocks were thrown through plate-glass windows at the Mexican restaurant where Cazares worked. The FBI decided against opening a hate-crime investigation after concluding that it was vandalism, not retaliation.
Hundreds of messages related to the case were posted on the Hannibal Courier-Post Web site, with several questioning why authorities hadn't been able to determine Cazares' legal status before. One suggested police should conduct raids to seek out other illegal immigrants.
"Of course we have folks who say that's unconstitutional and racial profiling so we have to ignore the problem until this sort of terrible tragedy takes place," the posting read. The newspaper eventually took down the postings.
At a news conference, police Capt. James Hark told reporters that tracking illegal immigrants is a federal responsibility. He said the department is sympathetic to the victims' families, "but, in retrospect, there's nothing in the system that would have prevented this from happening."
ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said the agency seeks to work closely with local police to uncover illegal immigrants.
"When local law enforcement suspect that they have arrested an illegal alien on criminal charges, we encourage them to forward those suspicions to ICE, where we will make the appropriate determination whether that person is in the country legally or illegally, and whether he is deportable," Rusnok said.
The relationship between Cazares and Thomas had long been rocky, with Thomas seeking restraining orders in 2007 and again early last year. Marion County prosecutor Tom Redington said the first order was dismissed when Thomas failed to appear at a court hearing; the second was dismissed at her request.
Thomas made a third attempt around Thanksgiving and obtained a restraining order that was supposed to keep Cazares away from the small brick duplex where she lived with their 20-month-old son and a 7-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.
Yet neighbors said they often saw Cazares in the area.
"We pulled up one night and he drives up the street with his car lights off and just sits there watching her house," said neighbor Charles Thomas, who is not related to the victim.
In early February, Thomas told police she thought Cazares was stalking her. White-Masengill said her sister played cell phone messages for police, including one in which he said, "No one can love you like I do."
Redington said he didn't have Cazares arrested immediately because of the "on-again, off-again nature of their relationship." He asked Thomas to obtain records that would show that Cazares had been calling her, but she never got the records.
According to court records, Cazares offered the following account of the killings in his confession:
Despite the restraining order, he and Thomas had spent the night of Feb. 26 together after she called him. He thought they would be together again the next night.
Instead, Thomas went out. At some point she met up with Epley, a friend from her nearby hometown of Monroe City.
Cazares fumed when a friend told him he saw Thomas outside a bar. He stayed up late drinking beer, then went to Thomas' home the next morning and found her with Epley.
Cazares said he went to the kitchen, found a knife and stabbed Epley before turning the knife on Thomas.
He then drove around in Thomas' car before using her cell phone to call his mother. He told her "that I loved her and that I did something that was not right and for her to take care of herself."
He said he considered suicide, but instead quietly turned himself in. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Mar 20 12:50 PM US/EasternBy JIM SALTERAssociated Press Writer
HANNIBAL, Mo. (AP) - A Hannibal police officer was finishing up mundane paperwork on a quiet Saturday morning when Manuel Cazares walked into the station, blood splattered on his hands and shoes.
Cazares put his hands out, crossed them, and told the officer to arrest him.
"I killed two people," he allegedly said.
Details surrounding the allegations are far too common: an abusive relationship, a jilted lover, a sudden attack.
But some in this Mississippi River community of 17,000 best known as Mark Twain's hometown aren't just outraged by the violence. They also question why Cazares was in Hannibal at all.
Cazares admitted after his arrest that he is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. The 32-year-old had several run-ins with law enforcement before the homicides, but officials had never questioned his legal status.
Now he is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Feb. 28 deaths of his ex-girlfriend, 27-year-old Amanda Thomas, and 25-year-old Carl Patrick Epley.
"I don't know how this happens," said Tina White-Masengill, Thomas' sister. "My stepdad told police many times, 'I don't even think the guy's a legal citizen.'"
During his three years in Hannibal, Cazares managed to avoid detection, despite a few traffic violations and a property damage conviction after an arrest for allegedly beating up Thomas and tearing up her home. Thomas had a restraining order against Cazares, who got probation in the property-damage case.
Police say his name wasn't in a database maintained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Police and Cazares' boss also say he had authentic-looking identification, including a Social Security card. And police noted that Cazares speaks fluent English.
Cazares' attorney did not return phone messages seeking comment. Cazares is being held in lieu of $1 million bond.
Hannibal police declined several interview requests from The Associated Press, but said soon after the killing that they had received several angry calls, some with racial overtones.
Days after the killings, rocks were thrown through plate-glass windows at the Mexican restaurant where Cazares worked. The FBI decided against opening a hate-crime investigation after concluding that it was vandalism, not retaliation.
Hundreds of messages related to the case were posted on the Hannibal Courier-Post Web site, with several questioning why authorities hadn't been able to determine Cazares' legal status before. One suggested police should conduct raids to seek out other illegal immigrants.
"Of course we have folks who say that's unconstitutional and racial profiling so we have to ignore the problem until this sort of terrible tragedy takes place," the posting read. The newspaper eventually took down the postings.
At a news conference, police Capt. James Hark told reporters that tracking illegal immigrants is a federal responsibility. He said the department is sympathetic to the victims' families, "but, in retrospect, there's nothing in the system that would have prevented this from happening."
ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said the agency seeks to work closely with local police to uncover illegal immigrants.
"When local law enforcement suspect that they have arrested an illegal alien on criminal charges, we encourage them to forward those suspicions to ICE, where we will make the appropriate determination whether that person is in the country legally or illegally, and whether he is deportable," Rusnok said.
The relationship between Cazares and Thomas had long been rocky, with Thomas seeking restraining orders in 2007 and again early last year. Marion County prosecutor Tom Redington said the first order was dismissed when Thomas failed to appear at a court hearing; the second was dismissed at her request.
Thomas made a third attempt around Thanksgiving and obtained a restraining order that was supposed to keep Cazares away from the small brick duplex where she lived with their 20-month-old son and a 7-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.
Yet neighbors said they often saw Cazares in the area.
"We pulled up one night and he drives up the street with his car lights off and just sits there watching her house," said neighbor Charles Thomas, who is not related to the victim.
In early February, Thomas told police she thought Cazares was stalking her. White-Masengill said her sister played cell phone messages for police, including one in which he said, "No one can love you like I do."
Redington said he didn't have Cazares arrested immediately because of the "on-again, off-again nature of their relationship." He asked Thomas to obtain records that would show that Cazares had been calling her, but she never got the records.
According to court records, Cazares offered the following account of the killings in his confession:
Despite the restraining order, he and Thomas had spent the night of Feb. 26 together after she called him. He thought they would be together again the next night.
Instead, Thomas went out. At some point she met up with Epley, a friend from her nearby hometown of Monroe City.
Cazares fumed when a friend told him he saw Thomas outside a bar. He stayed up late drinking beer, then went to Thomas' home the next morning and found her with Epley.
Cazares said he went to the kitchen, found a knife and stabbed Epley before turning the knife on Thomas.
He then drove around in Thomas' car before using her cell phone to call his mother. He told her "that I loved her and that I did something that was not right and for her to take care of herself."
He said he considered suicide, but instead quietly turned himself in. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Monday, February 23, 2009
TX Illegal kidnapper
Illegal immigrant charged in girl's abduction
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Feb. 21, 2009, 1:10PM
Harris County Sheriff's Office
Jorge Gonzales Hernandez, 23, is being held without bail in the Harris County Jail.
An illegal immigrant accused of abducting and molesting a 4-year-old girl at a northeast Harris County apartment complex is facing a kidnapping charge, authorities say.
Jorge Gonzales Hernandez, 23, is being held without bail in the Harris County Jail, sheriff’s Lt. John Legg said. Police are awaiting the results of medical exams to decide whether to charge him with sexual assault.
The child and her father had just returned home from the store around 7:30 p.m. when a man grabbed her after she got out of their vehicle, Legg said. Her father tried to chase the man but he lost sight of them as they ran through the complex in the 4300 block of Aldine Mail Road.
Several residents searched for the child after the father screamed for help, and she was found about 30 minutes later in a laundry room, Legg said. She said Hernandez, who was standing a few feet away, had attacked her.
Hernandez, who was intoxicated, denied touching the girl, Legg said. She was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital to determine whether she was sexually assaulted.
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Feb. 21, 2009, 1:10PM
Harris County Sheriff's Office
Jorge Gonzales Hernandez, 23, is being held without bail in the Harris County Jail.
An illegal immigrant accused of abducting and molesting a 4-year-old girl at a northeast Harris County apartment complex is facing a kidnapping charge, authorities say.
Jorge Gonzales Hernandez, 23, is being held without bail in the Harris County Jail, sheriff’s Lt. John Legg said. Police are awaiting the results of medical exams to decide whether to charge him with sexual assault.
The child and her father had just returned home from the store around 7:30 p.m. when a man grabbed her after she got out of their vehicle, Legg said. Her father tried to chase the man but he lost sight of them as they ran through the complex in the 4300 block of Aldine Mail Road.
Several residents searched for the child after the father screamed for help, and she was found about 30 minutes later in a laundry room, Legg said. She said Hernandez, who was standing a few feet away, had attacked her.
Hernandez, who was intoxicated, denied touching the girl, Legg said. She was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital to determine whether she was sexually assaulted.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
FL Drunk Illegal runs over man
DUI manslaughter charges follow death in Tampa nightclub parking lot
TAMPA -- A man driving an SUV struck and killed a pedestrian outside a Tampa nightclub early this morning, according to a Tampa police report.
The driver, Alex Perez-Escalante, 18, has been charged with DUI manslaughter,leaving the scene of a crash with death and not having a valid driver's license. He remained at the Orient Road jail today without a set bail.
Jail records list Perez-Escalante as a Mexican national with no known local address.
The identity of the victim has not been released by Tampa police.
According to an arrest report, Perez-Escalante was driving a Chevrolet Tahoe about 3:15 a.m. in the parking lot of the Palladium nightclub at 5305 N Armenia Ave. An unknown individual threw a glass at Perez-Escalante's vehicle and he accelerated as he drove, the report said.
Perez-Escalante lost control and hit the pedestrian, police said. He then fled the scene, heading southbound along Armenia.
Officers located Perez-Escalante a few blocks away.
TAMPA -- A man driving an SUV struck and killed a pedestrian outside a Tampa nightclub early this morning, according to a Tampa police report.
The driver, Alex Perez-Escalante, 18, has been charged with DUI manslaughter,leaving the scene of a crash with death and not having a valid driver's license. He remained at the Orient Road jail today without a set bail.
Jail records list Perez-Escalante as a Mexican national with no known local address.
The identity of the victim has not been released by Tampa police.
According to an arrest report, Perez-Escalante was driving a Chevrolet Tahoe about 3:15 a.m. in the parking lot of the Palladium nightclub at 5305 N Armenia Ave. An unknown individual threw a glass at Perez-Escalante's vehicle and he accelerated as he drove, the report said.
Perez-Escalante lost control and hit the pedestrian, police said. He then fled the scene, heading southbound along Armenia.
Officers located Perez-Escalante a few blocks away.
CANADA Illegal rapist
Illegal alien charged in sex assault
By SUN MEDIA
WINNIPEG -- Winnipeg police have charged a 21-year-old man, who may be in Canada illegally, with a sexual assault in the Valley Gardens area last month.
Police said a 34-year-old woman received six strange phone calls from a male suspect shortly before he allegedly broke into her home and seriously sexually assaulted her early Jan. 27.
Const. Jason Michalyshen, a police spokesman, said investigators determined the calls were made from a restaurant in Winnipeg. That helped the sex crimes unit to identify and arrest a suspect Sunday, he said.
Michalyshen said officers talked to everyone who has access to the phone and had the woman positively identify a suspect.
Police said the woman doesn't know the man.
Michalyshen said it's possible she was a customer of the restaurant.
Juan Francisco Reyes-Martinez, 21, is charged with sexual assault and break and enter, and remains in custody.
He was or is enrolled in a Winnipeg university and was here on a student visa that has expired, police said.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada is now involved, police said.
By SUN MEDIA
WINNIPEG -- Winnipeg police have charged a 21-year-old man, who may be in Canada illegally, with a sexual assault in the Valley Gardens area last month.
Police said a 34-year-old woman received six strange phone calls from a male suspect shortly before he allegedly broke into her home and seriously sexually assaulted her early Jan. 27.
Const. Jason Michalyshen, a police spokesman, said investigators determined the calls were made from a restaurant in Winnipeg. That helped the sex crimes unit to identify and arrest a suspect Sunday, he said.
Michalyshen said officers talked to everyone who has access to the phone and had the woman positively identify a suspect.
Police said the woman doesn't know the man.
Michalyshen said it's possible she was a customer of the restaurant.
Juan Francisco Reyes-Martinez, 21, is charged with sexual assault and break and enter, and remains in custody.
He was or is enrolled in a Winnipeg university and was here on a student visa that has expired, police said.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada is now involved, police said.
NY Muslim "Honor Killing" murders wife
This guy ain't illegal, but this garbage shouldn't be allowed to live his third world way in our country.
Beheading in New York Appears to Be Honor Killing, Experts Say
Tuesday , February 17, 2009
By Joshua Rhett Miller
The beheading of 37-year-old Aasiya Hassan has all the markings of an honor killing, psychologists and Islamic experts tell FOXNews.com, as the upstate New York woman's husband awaits a preliminary hearing on murder charges.
Muzzammil Hassan, 44, remains jailed after being charged with the second-degree murder of his wife, whose body was found Thursday at the office of Bridges TV, their television station in Orchard Park, near Buffalo.
Orchard Park Police Chief Andrew Benz said Hassan has not confessed to the crime, despite media reports to the contrary.
"He came in and said his wife was dead," said Benz, who declined to elaborate on the particulars of his conversation with the suspect.
But Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III left no doubt that he believes Muzzammil Hassan killed his wife. Hassan will appear for a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Orchard Park. If convicted of second-degree murder, he faces up to life in prison.
"He's a pretty vicious and remorseless bastard," Sedita told FOXNews.com Tuesday. "Whether he was motivated by some kind of interpretation of his religious or cultural views, we don't know. We'll look into everything in the case."
Asked if the murder is being probed as an honor killing, Benz replied, "We've been told that there's no place for that kind of action in their faith, but I wouldn't say that there's anything that's being completely ruled out at this point."
But psychologists and some American Muslims said the slaying has all the markings of an honor killing.
"The fierce and gruesome nature of this murder signals it's an honor killing," said Dr. Phyllis Chesler, an author and professor of psychology at the Richmond College of the City University of New York. "What she did was worthy of capital punishment in his eyes."
Following multiple episodes of domestic violence, Aasiya Hassan filed for divorce on Feb. 6 and obtained an order of protection that barred her husband from their home, according to attorney Elizabeth DiPirro, whose law firm, Hogan Willig, represented Aasiya Hassan in the divorce proceeding.
Chesler, who wrote "Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence?" for Middle East Quarterly, said some Muslim men consider divorce a dishonor on their family.
"This is not permitted in their culture," said Chesler, whose study analyzed more than 50 reports of honor killings in North America and Europe. "This is, from a cultural point of view, an honor killing."
Chesler said honor killings typically are Muslim-on-Muslim crimes and largely involve teenage daughters, young women and, to a lesser extent, wives.
But Chesler said the "extremely gruesome nature" of the crime closely matches the characteristics of an honor killing.
"Leaving the body parts displayed the way he did, like a terrorist would do, that's very peculiar, it's very public," Chesler said. "He wanted to show that even though his business venture may have been failing, that he was in control of his wife."
Chesler called on U.S. and Canadian immigration authorities to inform potential Muslim immigrants and new Muslim citizens that it's illegal to abuse women in the two countries.
"As long as Islamist advocacy groups continue to obfuscate the problem, and government and police officials accept their inaccurate versions of reality, women will continue to be killed for honor in the West, such murder may even accelerate," Chesler wrote. "Unchecked by Western law, their blood will be on society's hands."
M. Zuhdi Jasser, founder and chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, agreed with Chesler.
"It certainly has all the markings of [an honor killing]," Jasser told FOXNews.com. "She expressed through the legal system that she was being abused, and at the moment she asked for divorce, she's not only murdered — she's decapitated."
Muzzammil and Aasiya Hassan founded Bridges TV in November 2004 to counter anti-Islam stereotypes, touting the network as the "first-ever full-time home for American Muslims," according to a 2004 press release.
Jasser said he was concerned that Aasiya Hassan suffered such a barbaric death after she and her husband were seen as a couple focused on bettering the "Islamic image" in the United States.
"The most dangerous aspect of this case is to simply say it's domestic violence," Jasser told FOXNews.com.
In a 1,300-word statement, Islamic Society of North America Vice President Imam Mohammed Hagmagid Ali said the organization was "shocked and saddened" by the killing.
"This is a wake up call to all of us, that violence against women is real and can not be ignored," the statement read. "It must be addressed collectively by every member of our community."
Ali called on imams and community leaders to take a "strong stand" against domestic violence, and he denounced the link of shame and divorce among Muslims.
"Women who seek divorce from their spouses because of physical abuse should get full support from the community and should not be viewed as someone who has brought shame to herself or her family," the statement continued. "The shame is on the person who committed the act of violence or abuse. Our community needs to take a strong stand against abusive spouses."
Meanwhile, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, a producer and host for Bridges TV who worked alongside the Hassans, said "now is not the time" to debate the cultural and religious context of the murder that appears to be an honor killing inspired by Aasiya Hassan's desire to divorce her husband.
"There will be time for that later," Hirschfield said in a statement obtained by FOXNews.com. "I will only say to those who leap to the conclusion that this kind of thing is intrinsic to Islam, ask yourselves if you think that drunkenness is intrinsic to Irish Catholics, or cheating in business is to Jews?"
Beheading in New York Appears to Be Honor Killing, Experts Say
Tuesday , February 17, 2009
By Joshua Rhett Miller
The beheading of 37-year-old Aasiya Hassan has all the markings of an honor killing, psychologists and Islamic experts tell FOXNews.com, as the upstate New York woman's husband awaits a preliminary hearing on murder charges.
Muzzammil Hassan, 44, remains jailed after being charged with the second-degree murder of his wife, whose body was found Thursday at the office of Bridges TV, their television station in Orchard Park, near Buffalo.
Orchard Park Police Chief Andrew Benz said Hassan has not confessed to the crime, despite media reports to the contrary.
"He came in and said his wife was dead," said Benz, who declined to elaborate on the particulars of his conversation with the suspect.
But Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III left no doubt that he believes Muzzammil Hassan killed his wife. Hassan will appear for a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Orchard Park. If convicted of second-degree murder, he faces up to life in prison.
"He's a pretty vicious and remorseless bastard," Sedita told FOXNews.com Tuesday. "Whether he was motivated by some kind of interpretation of his religious or cultural views, we don't know. We'll look into everything in the case."
Asked if the murder is being probed as an honor killing, Benz replied, "We've been told that there's no place for that kind of action in their faith, but I wouldn't say that there's anything that's being completely ruled out at this point."
But psychologists and some American Muslims said the slaying has all the markings of an honor killing.
"The fierce and gruesome nature of this murder signals it's an honor killing," said Dr. Phyllis Chesler, an author and professor of psychology at the Richmond College of the City University of New York. "What she did was worthy of capital punishment in his eyes."
Following multiple episodes of domestic violence, Aasiya Hassan filed for divorce on Feb. 6 and obtained an order of protection that barred her husband from their home, according to attorney Elizabeth DiPirro, whose law firm, Hogan Willig, represented Aasiya Hassan in the divorce proceeding.
Chesler, who wrote "Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence?" for Middle East Quarterly, said some Muslim men consider divorce a dishonor on their family.
"This is not permitted in their culture," said Chesler, whose study analyzed more than 50 reports of honor killings in North America and Europe. "This is, from a cultural point of view, an honor killing."
Chesler said honor killings typically are Muslim-on-Muslim crimes and largely involve teenage daughters, young women and, to a lesser extent, wives.
But Chesler said the "extremely gruesome nature" of the crime closely matches the characteristics of an honor killing.
"Leaving the body parts displayed the way he did, like a terrorist would do, that's very peculiar, it's very public," Chesler said. "He wanted to show that even though his business venture may have been failing, that he was in control of his wife."
Chesler called on U.S. and Canadian immigration authorities to inform potential Muslim immigrants and new Muslim citizens that it's illegal to abuse women in the two countries.
"As long as Islamist advocacy groups continue to obfuscate the problem, and government and police officials accept their inaccurate versions of reality, women will continue to be killed for honor in the West, such murder may even accelerate," Chesler wrote. "Unchecked by Western law, their blood will be on society's hands."
M. Zuhdi Jasser, founder and chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, agreed with Chesler.
"It certainly has all the markings of [an honor killing]," Jasser told FOXNews.com. "She expressed through the legal system that she was being abused, and at the moment she asked for divorce, she's not only murdered — she's decapitated."
Muzzammil and Aasiya Hassan founded Bridges TV in November 2004 to counter anti-Islam stereotypes, touting the network as the "first-ever full-time home for American Muslims," according to a 2004 press release.
Jasser said he was concerned that Aasiya Hassan suffered such a barbaric death after she and her husband were seen as a couple focused on bettering the "Islamic image" in the United States.
"The most dangerous aspect of this case is to simply say it's domestic violence," Jasser told FOXNews.com.
In a 1,300-word statement, Islamic Society of North America Vice President Imam Mohammed Hagmagid Ali said the organization was "shocked and saddened" by the killing.
"This is a wake up call to all of us, that violence against women is real and can not be ignored," the statement read. "It must be addressed collectively by every member of our community."
Ali called on imams and community leaders to take a "strong stand" against domestic violence, and he denounced the link of shame and divorce among Muslims.
"Women who seek divorce from their spouses because of physical abuse should get full support from the community and should not be viewed as someone who has brought shame to herself or her family," the statement continued. "The shame is on the person who committed the act of violence or abuse. Our community needs to take a strong stand against abusive spouses."
Meanwhile, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, a producer and host for Bridges TV who worked alongside the Hassans, said "now is not the time" to debate the cultural and religious context of the murder that appears to be an honor killing inspired by Aasiya Hassan's desire to divorce her husband.
"There will be time for that later," Hirschfield said in a statement obtained by FOXNews.com. "I will only say to those who leap to the conclusion that this kind of thing is intrinsic to Islam, ask yourselves if you think that drunkenness is intrinsic to Irish Catholics, or cheating in business is to Jews?"
MD Illegal rapist of 8 year old
Published: February 17, 2009
A 25-year-old Honduran national is wanted in connection with the rape of an 8-year-old girl.
Police said Marcos Danilo Reyes Banegas is accused of raping the child in Woodbridge on Monday, said Prince William County police spokeswoman Erika Hernandez.
Police said Reyes Banegas is an acquaintance of girl.
Hernandez said the man has ties to the Woodbridge, Alexandria, and Gaithersburg, Md.
Police have obtained warrants charging Reyes Banegas with rape, forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual battery and indecent liberties with a minor, Hernandez said.
He is about 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 154 pounds. He has short black hair and brown eyes.
Hernandez said he is driving a dark gray four-door 2004 Pontiac Grand Am sedan with Maryland registration “2DWK45.”
Hernandez said because of his immigration status Reyes Banegas may try to flee the country.
The report comes on the heels of a Manassas incident in which a man was charged with sexually assaulting another 8-year-old girl.
On Feb. 9, police arrested Gerald Dean Lentz, 46, of 205 Yoakum Parkway #403 in Alexandria, and charged him with object sexual penetration and aggravated sexual battery.
Hernandez said like Reyes Banegas case, Lentz also knew the girl before he allegedly attacked her.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Reyes Banegas is encouraged to call police at 703-792-6500 or Crime Solvers at 703-670-3700. Callers don’t have to give their names. Tips leading to arrest could earn a cash reward up to $1,000.
Staff wrirter Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.
A 25-year-old Honduran national is wanted in connection with the rape of an 8-year-old girl.
Police said Marcos Danilo Reyes Banegas is accused of raping the child in Woodbridge on Monday, said Prince William County police spokeswoman Erika Hernandez.
Police said Reyes Banegas is an acquaintance of girl.
Hernandez said the man has ties to the Woodbridge, Alexandria, and Gaithersburg, Md.
Police have obtained warrants charging Reyes Banegas with rape, forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual battery and indecent liberties with a minor, Hernandez said.
He is about 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 154 pounds. He has short black hair and brown eyes.
Hernandez said he is driving a dark gray four-door 2004 Pontiac Grand Am sedan with Maryland registration “2DWK45.”
Hernandez said because of his immigration status Reyes Banegas may try to flee the country.
The report comes on the heels of a Manassas incident in which a man was charged with sexually assaulting another 8-year-old girl.
On Feb. 9, police arrested Gerald Dean Lentz, 46, of 205 Yoakum Parkway #403 in Alexandria, and charged him with object sexual penetration and aggravated sexual battery.
Hernandez said like Reyes Banegas case, Lentz also knew the girl before he allegedly attacked her.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Reyes Banegas is encouraged to call police at 703-792-6500 or Crime Solvers at 703-670-3700. Callers don’t have to give their names. Tips leading to arrest could earn a cash reward up to $1,000.
Staff wrirter Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
CA Illegal hit and run driver puts kid in a coma
Yet again. Another report of an illegal alien out driving illegally maiming little kids.
San Jose man arrested in hit-and-run crash that put 8-year-old in coma
Marvin Rogelio Martinez, 19, San Jose was arrested Friday for the hit-and-run accident...
Following tips from the public, San Jose police Friday tracked down and arrested a grocery store worker with no driver's license who they believe smashed his car into 8-year-old Alejandro "Alex" Casillas and the boy's father as they walked across Story Road — and then drove away.
The suspect was identified as Marvin Rogelio Martinez, 19, of San Jose.
Police said the traffic investigations unit found the man at the Suvianda Market on Story and White roads, where he worked, after anonymous tips from the public over the last two days.
"Hit-and-runs are one of the hardest crimes for us to solve,'' said Sgt. Mike Sullivan, a police spokesman, emphasizing that there had been no description of the driver. "Without the public's help or the hard work of the traffic investigations unit — and specifically detective Sarah Stephens — this sad case would not have been cracked.''
Police said Martinez was an undocumented immigrant from Honduras. It was the second time in less than eight months that an undocumented immigrant was at the wheel of a vehicle that struck a child near a San Jose school. Adrianna Fierro De Marin of San Jose faces charges after her sport-utility vehicle was involved in a fatal collision with 12-year-old Breanna Slaughter-Eck as she rode her bike home from Hoover Elementary on the last day of school. In that case, she remained at the scene of the accident.
Martinez was at large for four days before he was brought to police headquarters, interviewed and booked on a charge of felony hit-and-run. He is expected to be arraigned next week.
Police found his car — a Nissan Sentra — where the suspect dumped it on Holderman Drive, in the foothills above Mount Pleasant High School.
Meanwhile, Alex remains in a coma. His family and police say his chances for a full recovery are slim.
Minerva Cardenas, Alex's aunt, burst into tears when she heard of the arrest.
"Thank God,'' she said. "I feel that this person is not going to hurt any other kid on the street. We are waiting, praying to God for Alex to wake up. I will pray for this man, too."
About 8 a.m. Monday, Alex and his father were walking hand in hand in the crosswalk with a green light across Story at Adrian Way on their way to Mildred Goss Elementary School.
Police say a speeding car ran a red light and smashed into them. Alex flew into the air and fell to the ground. His father suffered a broken ankle, but he hobbled to Alex, cradled him in his arms and carried him from the middle of the road to the sidewalk, where he sat and waited for help to arrive.
Police got a tip Thursday that one of the employees of the East Side market was responsible for the tragic crash.
Investigators from the traffic investigations unit began to try to track down the suspect from among the employees.
Eventually they homed in on Martinez, who drove a car that fit the description of the suspect vehicle and who traveled that road daily to get to and from work. Then Friday, police got another tip, this one that the driver in the hit-and-run's first name was Marvin.
Police detained the suspect at work about 2 p.m., moving quickly because it was payday and they were concerned Martinez might flee.
They arrested him about an hour and half later, after the suspect led investigators to the dumped and damaged sedan.
Anyone wishing to donate to help the victim's family can write a check for Alejandro Casillas in care of Minerva Cardenas, Bank of America account number 05815-19484.
San Jose man arrested in hit-and-run crash that put 8-year-old in coma
Marvin Rogelio Martinez, 19, San Jose was arrested Friday for the hit-and-run accident...
Following tips from the public, San Jose police Friday tracked down and arrested a grocery store worker with no driver's license who they believe smashed his car into 8-year-old Alejandro "Alex" Casillas and the boy's father as they walked across Story Road — and then drove away.
The suspect was identified as Marvin Rogelio Martinez, 19, of San Jose.
Police said the traffic investigations unit found the man at the Suvianda Market on Story and White roads, where he worked, after anonymous tips from the public over the last two days.
"Hit-and-runs are one of the hardest crimes for us to solve,'' said Sgt. Mike Sullivan, a police spokesman, emphasizing that there had been no description of the driver. "Without the public's help or the hard work of the traffic investigations unit — and specifically detective Sarah Stephens — this sad case would not have been cracked.''
Police said Martinez was an undocumented immigrant from Honduras. It was the second time in less than eight months that an undocumented immigrant was at the wheel of a vehicle that struck a child near a San Jose school. Adrianna Fierro De Marin of San Jose faces charges after her sport-utility vehicle was involved in a fatal collision with 12-year-old Breanna Slaughter-Eck as she rode her bike home from Hoover Elementary on the last day of school. In that case, she remained at the scene of the accident.
Martinez was at large for four days before he was brought to police headquarters, interviewed and booked on a charge of felony hit-and-run. He is expected to be arraigned next week.
Police found his car — a Nissan Sentra — where the suspect dumped it on Holderman Drive, in the foothills above Mount Pleasant High School.
Meanwhile, Alex remains in a coma. His family and police say his chances for a full recovery are slim.
Minerva Cardenas, Alex's aunt, burst into tears when she heard of the arrest.
"Thank God,'' she said. "I feel that this person is not going to hurt any other kid on the street. We are waiting, praying to God for Alex to wake up. I will pray for this man, too."
About 8 a.m. Monday, Alex and his father were walking hand in hand in the crosswalk with a green light across Story at Adrian Way on their way to Mildred Goss Elementary School.
Police say a speeding car ran a red light and smashed into them. Alex flew into the air and fell to the ground. His father suffered a broken ankle, but he hobbled to Alex, cradled him in his arms and carried him from the middle of the road to the sidewalk, where he sat and waited for help to arrive.
Police got a tip Thursday that one of the employees of the East Side market was responsible for the tragic crash.
Investigators from the traffic investigations unit began to try to track down the suspect from among the employees.
Eventually they homed in on Martinez, who drove a car that fit the description of the suspect vehicle and who traveled that road daily to get to and from work. Then Friday, police got another tip, this one that the driver in the hit-and-run's first name was Marvin.
Police detained the suspect at work about 2 p.m., moving quickly because it was payday and they were concerned Martinez might flee.
They arrested him about an hour and half later, after the suspect led investigators to the dumped and damaged sedan.
Anyone wishing to donate to help the victim's family can write a check for Alejandro Casillas in care of Minerva Cardenas, Bank of America account number 05815-19484.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
CA Illegal sells daughter for beer.
Father Accused Of Selling Daughter For Beer
Police: Man Called Police After Not Getting Payments
POSTED: 10:46 am PST January 12, 2009
UPDATED: 6:40 pm PST January 12, 2009
GREENFIELD, Calif. -- A father is accused of trying to sell his 14-year-old daughter for marriage in hopes of getting money and 150 cases of beer in return, Greenfield police said.
Macelino de Jesus Martinez, 36, was arrested Monday on suspicion of trying to arrange to have his daughter marry Margarito de Jesus Galindo, 18, for $16,000, 100 cases of Corona, 50 cases of Modelo beer, several cases of meat, two cases of wine, 50 cases of Gatorade and 50 cases of soft drinks, authorities said.
The girl moved in with Galindo and when payments were not received, her father called police to get his daughter back.
Greenfield Police Chief Joe Grebmeier told KSBW Action News 8 that both Martinez and Galindo, who are immigrants from Mexico, face the possibility of being deported as illegal immigrants.
Grebmeier also said that both men didn’t fully understand that what they were doing was wrong.
Also, the girl told police that she willingly moved in with Galindo.
Arranged marriages are common in the section of Mexico where both Galindo and Martinez are from.
But California law prohibits arranged marriage where one or both of the parties have been coerced.
Galindo was arrested and booked into the Monterey County Jail on suspicion of statutory rape, and Martinez was arrested and booked on suspicion of receiving money for causing a person to cohabitate.
Grebmeier said that there have been rumors of arranged marriages taking place in the Greenfield area before, but that this was the first arrest concerning the act of human trafficking in the city that he knows of.
The case will head to the district attorney’s office Tuesday.
Police: Man Called Police After Not Getting Payments
POSTED: 10:46 am PST January 12, 2009
UPDATED: 6:40 pm PST January 12, 2009
GREENFIELD, Calif. -- A father is accused of trying to sell his 14-year-old daughter for marriage in hopes of getting money and 150 cases of beer in return, Greenfield police said.
Macelino de Jesus Martinez, 36, was arrested Monday on suspicion of trying to arrange to have his daughter marry Margarito de Jesus Galindo, 18, for $16,000, 100 cases of Corona, 50 cases of Modelo beer, several cases of meat, two cases of wine, 50 cases of Gatorade and 50 cases of soft drinks, authorities said.
The girl moved in with Galindo and when payments were not received, her father called police to get his daughter back.
Greenfield Police Chief Joe Grebmeier told KSBW Action News 8 that both Martinez and Galindo, who are immigrants from Mexico, face the possibility of being deported as illegal immigrants.
Grebmeier also said that both men didn’t fully understand that what they were doing was wrong.
Also, the girl told police that she willingly moved in with Galindo.
Arranged marriages are common in the section of Mexico where both Galindo and Martinez are from.
But California law prohibits arranged marriage where one or both of the parties have been coerced.
Galindo was arrested and booked into the Monterey County Jail on suspicion of statutory rape, and Martinez was arrested and booked on suspicion of receiving money for causing a person to cohabitate.
Grebmeier said that there have been rumors of arranged marriages taking place in the Greenfield area before, but that this was the first arrest concerning the act of human trafficking in the city that he knows of.
The case will head to the district attorney’s office Tuesday.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
CA Illegal hides gun in garage causes death of toddler
Man arrested after accidental fatal shooting of 2-year-old East Palo Alto boy
By Lisa Krieger Mercury News
Posted: 01/10/2009 01:46:38 PM PST
East Palo Alto resident Sergio Sanchez, 33, has been charged by police in connection with the accidental shooting of a toddler on January 8.
Sanchez, a previously deported felon, has been charged by East Palo Alto Police with possession of a firearm, storing a firearm in a place accessible by children, and a probation violation. He has been booked into the San Mateo County Jail.
Under California law, authorities can hold gun owners responsible for a death if they leave a weapon in an area that is accessible to children.
The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office is also reviewing possible charges of child endangerment.
In an interview with officers, Sanchez expressed sincere remorse and said he accepted full responsibility for the incident, which killed 2-year-old Andrew Grewe.
Sanchez went to the Palo Alto Police Department on Friday, saying he had received cell phone messages and seen media coverage saying he was wanted for questioning. He was delivered to the East Palo Alto Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division, where he was interviewed and arrested.
Officers said Sanchez had left the gun at a house where he had been living temporarily. Police believe he is employed at a Palo Alto-based 7Eleven store. The child, son of Star Grewe of Bedford, TX, was living at his grandmother's house on the 2200 block of Menalto Avenue of East Palo Alto to get treatment at Stanford Hospital for a medical condition
due to his premature birth.
According to his mother, the child was in a neighbor's garage at 11:10 a.m. when he was shot by a 12-year-old relative who was playing with a small rifle that he thought was a toy. Andrew was shot in the chest, rushed to the hospital and declared dead at about 11:45 p.m.
In a Friday interview with The Palo Alto Daily News, Grewe said "The gun part of it was an accident...They didn't know it was a real gun.''
The 12-year-old boy and five of his siblings are in the custody of Child Protective Services, police said. Police ask anyone with more information call the East Palo Alto Tip Line, (650) 853-8477.
By Lisa Krieger Mercury News
Posted: 01/10/2009 01:46:38 PM PST
East Palo Alto resident Sergio Sanchez, 33, has been charged by police in connection with the accidental shooting of a toddler on January 8.
Sanchez, a previously deported felon, has been charged by East Palo Alto Police with possession of a firearm, storing a firearm in a place accessible by children, and a probation violation. He has been booked into the San Mateo County Jail.
Under California law, authorities can hold gun owners responsible for a death if they leave a weapon in an area that is accessible to children.
The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office is also reviewing possible charges of child endangerment.
In an interview with officers, Sanchez expressed sincere remorse and said he accepted full responsibility for the incident, which killed 2-year-old Andrew Grewe.
Sanchez went to the Palo Alto Police Department on Friday, saying he had received cell phone messages and seen media coverage saying he was wanted for questioning. He was delivered to the East Palo Alto Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division, where he was interviewed and arrested.
Officers said Sanchez had left the gun at a house where he had been living temporarily. Police believe he is employed at a Palo Alto-based 7Eleven store. The child, son of Star Grewe of Bedford, TX, was living at his grandmother's house on the 2200 block of Menalto Avenue of East Palo Alto to get treatment at Stanford Hospital for a medical condition
due to his premature birth.
According to his mother, the child was in a neighbor's garage at 11:10 a.m. when he was shot by a 12-year-old relative who was playing with a small rifle that he thought was a toy. Andrew was shot in the chest, rushed to the hospital and declared dead at about 11:45 p.m.
In a Friday interview with The Palo Alto Daily News, Grewe said "The gun part of it was an accident...They didn't know it was a real gun.''
The 12-year-old boy and five of his siblings are in the custody of Child Protective Services, police said. Police ask anyone with more information call the East Palo Alto Tip Line, (650) 853-8477.
CO Illegal kills 2 over ipod
High school students killed as gangs brawled over stolen iPod
LANCE BENZEL
January 9, 2009 - 10:43AM
A double slaying east of Colorado Springs on Thursday was the result of a gang-related clash over a stolen iPod, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said.
The suspect, 19-year-old Juan Vasquez, was arrested early Friday in the shooting deaths of two male high school students at a park in the Cimarron Hills area, sheriff's spokeswoman Lt. Lari Sevene said.
The victims were identified as 18-year-old Uriel Rascon and 17-year-old Luis Burciaga. Rascon attended Sierra High School, and Burciaga went to The New Horizons School, an alternative high school. Both schools are in Harrison School District 2.
Vasquez is being held in the El Paso County jail on an immigration hold placed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, jail records show.
He is due to appear in court Monday. An arrest affidavit was not available.
Autopsies determined that Rascon and Burciaga each died of a gunshot wound in the chest. They were shot with an SKS semiautomatic rifle, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said.
Sevene said Vasquez and the two victims were members of rival gangs. They met in the Cimarron Eastridge Park off Constitution Avenue, Sevene said, in what apparently was a brawl set off by a fight involving Sand Creek High School students the day earlier over an iPod music player.
Vasquez and the two victims were "associates" of those involved in the earlier fracas, Sevene said.
Several fist fights broke out among the 20 teenagers who gathered in the vacant field between the park and a large apartment complex before the fight ended with shots being fired.
One of the teenagers died at the scene, and the other was pronounced dead about 5 p.m. at Memorial Hospital, authorities said.
Within hours, investigators traced the feud to Sand Creek, and school officials ordered a lockdown Friday morning, with three police officers and district security officers patrolling the campus.
"I'm not sure what the connections are, and I think that was an appropriate response when we received that information last night," Sand Creek Principal Mike Collins said.
Vasquez was arrested about 1:30 a.m. Friday in the vicinity of Peterson Road. He had been a student at Sand Creek "a couple of years ago" before transferring to West Valley Alternative High School, said Amanda Mountain, a spokeswoman for Falcon School District 49.
Sevene said the fight over the music player happened Wednesday near Sand Creek after school. Mountain said the fight was off-campus and that it wasn't clear whether it was related to the shooting.
Collins said that there have been no significant incidents tied to gang activity at Sand Creek in the past two years, and that school officials are instructed to crack down on gang paraphernalia and clothing.
Sheriff's investigators remained at the park Friday, using a metal detector to hunt for shell casings. Small flags marked the location of potential evidence, and extra deputies were on patrol because of the potential for retaliation.
Investigators are confident they have the only shooter involved in the attack but are still seeking witnesses to corroborate key details, such as how far Vasquez was from the victims before they were shot, Sevene said.
"We have everything from 10 feet to 12 yards," she said.
-
Contact the writer: 636-0366 or lance.benzel@gazette.com.
-
Gazette writers Tom Roeder and Carlyn Ray Mitchell contributed to this report.
THE VICTIMS
Louis Burciaga, 17-year-old who attended The New Horizons School, an alternative high school.
Uriel Rascon, 18-year-old who attended Sierra High School.
THE SUSPECT
Juan Vasquez, 19, was arrested early Friday in the shooting deaths of two teens.
LANCE BENZEL
January 9, 2009 - 10:43AM
A double slaying east of Colorado Springs on Thursday was the result of a gang-related clash over a stolen iPod, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said.
The suspect, 19-year-old Juan Vasquez, was arrested early Friday in the shooting deaths of two male high school students at a park in the Cimarron Hills area, sheriff's spokeswoman Lt. Lari Sevene said.
The victims were identified as 18-year-old Uriel Rascon and 17-year-old Luis Burciaga. Rascon attended Sierra High School, and Burciaga went to The New Horizons School, an alternative high school. Both schools are in Harrison School District 2.
Vasquez is being held in the El Paso County jail on an immigration hold placed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, jail records show.
He is due to appear in court Monday. An arrest affidavit was not available.
Autopsies determined that Rascon and Burciaga each died of a gunshot wound in the chest. They were shot with an SKS semiautomatic rifle, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said.
Sevene said Vasquez and the two victims were members of rival gangs. They met in the Cimarron Eastridge Park off Constitution Avenue, Sevene said, in what apparently was a brawl set off by a fight involving Sand Creek High School students the day earlier over an iPod music player.
Vasquez and the two victims were "associates" of those involved in the earlier fracas, Sevene said.
Several fist fights broke out among the 20 teenagers who gathered in the vacant field between the park and a large apartment complex before the fight ended with shots being fired.
One of the teenagers died at the scene, and the other was pronounced dead about 5 p.m. at Memorial Hospital, authorities said.
Within hours, investigators traced the feud to Sand Creek, and school officials ordered a lockdown Friday morning, with three police officers and district security officers patrolling the campus.
"I'm not sure what the connections are, and I think that was an appropriate response when we received that information last night," Sand Creek Principal Mike Collins said.
Vasquez was arrested about 1:30 a.m. Friday in the vicinity of Peterson Road. He had been a student at Sand Creek "a couple of years ago" before transferring to West Valley Alternative High School, said Amanda Mountain, a spokeswoman for Falcon School District 49.
Sevene said the fight over the music player happened Wednesday near Sand Creek after school. Mountain said the fight was off-campus and that it wasn't clear whether it was related to the shooting.
Collins said that there have been no significant incidents tied to gang activity at Sand Creek in the past two years, and that school officials are instructed to crack down on gang paraphernalia and clothing.
Sheriff's investigators remained at the park Friday, using a metal detector to hunt for shell casings. Small flags marked the location of potential evidence, and extra deputies were on patrol because of the potential for retaliation.
Investigators are confident they have the only shooter involved in the attack but are still seeking witnesses to corroborate key details, such as how far Vasquez was from the victims before they were shot, Sevene said.
"We have everything from 10 feet to 12 yards," she said.
-
Contact the writer: 636-0366 or lance.benzel@gazette.com.
-
Gazette writers Tom Roeder and Carlyn Ray Mitchell contributed to this report.
THE VICTIMS
Louis Burciaga, 17-year-old who attended The New Horizons School, an alternative high school.
Uriel Rascon, 18-year-old who attended Sierra High School.
THE SUSPECT
Juan Vasquez, 19, was arrested early Friday in the shooting deaths of two teens.
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