Hit and Run Suspect Appears in Court (Menlo Park Patch)

Hit and Run Suspect Appears in Court
No bail status levied by immigration.
By Banks Albach

A 21-year-old man who fled a Menlo Park accident scene two weeks ago has no chance of bail -- not because of the alleged crime, but because U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wants him after his time in San Mateo County.

Eric Olvera Nieto, an undocumented immigrant according to ICE, appeared in San Mateo County Superior Court Wednesday afternoon and is technically behind bars on $50,000 bail. ICE frequently sweeps local jails in search of undocumented immigrants and found Nieto shortly after his booking, said Virginia Kice, Western Regional Communications Director.

She said ICE placed a hold on his bail and instructed San Mateo County to alert ICE when Nieto is released, whether it's after exoneration or incarceration.

"ICE believes this person is potentially deportable," Kice said. The agency does not usually release a person's country of origin, she said.

Nieto, a Redwood City resident, is facing felony hit and run charges after police say he rear ended a motorcycle at Marsh Road and U.S. Highway 101 on Oct. 5 and fled the scene on foot shortly after 6 a.m.

He abandoned his 1999 Ford Taurus and left his identification inside. After some investigation, police picked up Nieto at his girlfriend's house in the Central Valley City of Ripon nearly 15 hours later. Unlicensed and in the country without proper documentation, Nieto told police he fled the scene from fear of deportation, not because of the accident. He was booked into San Mateo County Jail around midnight.

Nieto pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and appeared in court Wednesday afternoon. He is set for a preliminary hearing on Oct 19 at 2 p.m. Nieto was assigned an attorney from the San Mateo County Public Defenders Program.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said ICE has never tried to preempt his jurisdiction by deporting an undocumented immigrant before a trial or prison sentence.

"They never do anything until we complete our case," he said.

It's standard practice by immigration officials, said Wagstaffe, who remembers the agency scanning booking records since before the adoption of its current acronym ICE.

"They've been doing it for years," he said.

After Nieto was booked, his fingerprints went digital and bounced through an ICE database, which can scan for prior convictions nationwide, Kice said. She wouldn't comment on Nieto's past, only that he registered as "potentially deportable."

Called the Secure Communities Program, Kice said the database reaches 658 jurisdictions in 38 states, including 38 California counties. The database went live in San Mateo County about five months ago.

"Since that time, Secure Communities has helped ICE to identify and take custody of more than 150 criminal aliens in San Mateo County with prior convictions for serious offenses," she said.

Kice said ICE plans to take custody of Nieto after his release for follow-up immigration enforcement.