Rockford man arrested on drug distribution charges (Rockford Register Star)

Rockford man arrested on drug distribution charges
By Anonymous
Posted Nov 03, 2010 @ 11:45 PM

ROCKFORD — State Line Area Narcotics Team officers arrested a Rockford man Tuesday in an ongoing cocaine distribution investigation.

Ernesto Martinez, 54, of the 2800 block of Bildahl Street in Rockford was charged while in custody at the McHenry County Jail where he is being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending deportation proceedings.

Martinez was arrested on a Winnebago County warrant for seven counts of delivery of a controlled substance. Martinez distributed a quarter kilo of cocaine to an Illinois State Police informant for five months in 2009. The Winnebago County arrest warrant is a no bond warrant.

The investigation is continuing and more arrests are anticipated.

The State Line Area Narcotics Team is made up of officers from the Freeport, Loves Park, Rockford, and Monroe, Wis. police departments, the Stephenson County and Green County, Wis., sheriff’s departments and the Illinois State Police.

Judge reverses his decision in drug case (The Salem News)

Judge reverses his decision in drug case
Original order could have helped accused dealer, 19, avoid deportation
November 4, 2010
By Julie Manganis Staff writer
The Salem News Thu Nov 04, 2010, 06:00 AM EDT

SALEM — A judge has reversed his own controversial decision to try to help an accused drug dealer avoid deportation by continuing the case without a finding for just one day short of a year.

Peabody District Court Judge Richard Mori yesterday granted a motion filed by prosecutors to reconsider his original order in the case against Josue Santiago, 19.

He vacated Santiago's continuation without a finding and then imposed a guilty finding and two years of supervised probation.

In September, Mori came under criticism for imposing the 364-day continuation without a finding, after Santiago's lawyer, William O'Hare, raised concerns about the potential impact of a longer sentence on Santiago's legal status in the country.

Santiago, O'Hare said, came to the United States with his family at the age of 11 and went on to graduate from Peabody High School. He is a legal resident, but a conviction could jeopardize his ability to stay in the country.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, were urging what is known as a "split" sentence, including some jail time and some suspended jail time and probation, for Santiago.

Santiago was arrested last year by Salem police detectives following a series of hand-to-hand cocaine sales to what turned out to be an undercover officer.

Santiago had a prior marijuana possession conviction on his record.

Prosecutor Jane Prince argued yesterday that the judge went beyond his authority in taking immigration status into account in fashioning a disposition in the case.

She cited a case in which a Boston Municipal Court judge had repeatedly dismissed cases on immigration grounds. He was later found to have acted improperly.

"Whether we agree or not, we're left with the statute before us," Prince said.

She also said that Mori's decision goes against public policy by creating a "two-tier system of justice."

"Every person that walks in that door ought to be treated equally," argued Prince, who went on to say that it would be just as wrong for a judge to sentence someone in a way that increases their likelihood of deportation.

"If a judge ever imposed a higher sentence to enhance the immigration consequences, we'd all be brought before the bar," Prince said.

O'Hare, who questioned whether prosecutors had the right to ask for a revised sentence, said yesterday that immigration issues were just one factor he was considering in his argument to Mori.

O'Hare said Santiago had graduated from high school and worked steadily for the year that it took his case to be resolved.

"So I was looking to try to keep his record clean, as if he were Bob Smith from Amherst Lane in Boxford," O'Hare argued. "I was moving for the (continuation without finding) for this fellow to protect his future as a participating member of society."

O'Hare said his client has abided by the terms of his probation and stayed out of further trouble.

Mori said immigration concerns were not the only reason for his sentence and noted that Santiago's prior record is "miniscule."

He acknowledged that he was not up-to-date on the current state of the law and didn't realize that there had been some court decisions that applied to the case until Prince filed them with her motion.

"I hear a lot of these cases," Mori said. "I had just not followed the changes in the law until I read these cases."

Independence Police Blotter (Parma Sun Post)

Independence Police Blotter
Published: Thursday, November 04, 2010, 8:56 AM
Sun News staff Sun News staff

FALSIFICATION, INTERSTATE 77: A passenger in a car that police stopped on I-77 on Oct. 10 was being held for investigation by federal immigration authorities. The man, who gave a Cleveland address, showed a passport from Guatemala but gave a name police could not confirm. Police stopped the car for illegally changing lanes.

Indian, Central American immigrants found at McAllen stash house (KGBT-TX)

Indian, Central American immigrants found at McAllen stash house
by Sergio Chapa
Posted: 11.04.2010 at 2:04 PM

A McAllen mother is behind bars after authorities found 17 illegal immigrants from India, Central American and Mexico inside her South Ware Road home.

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Gloria Garza on harboring illegal immigrant charges on Tuesday.

Court records released Thursday show that FBI agents received a tip about illegal immigrants being housed at her mobile home.

Border Patrol agents performed surveillance at the Westway Mobile Home Park at 1300 South Ware Road.

The agents allegedly saw Garza carrying a baby and unloading groceries into her mobile home.

Agents got permission to search her trailer and found the immigrants inside.

Some of the immigrants said they had been there for at least one week.

Garza and three of the illegal immigrants being held as witnesses each appeared before a federal judge in McAllen.

Illegal Immigrant Facing Felony Self-Deports Himself (KMGH-CO)

Illegal Immigrant Facing Felony Self-Deports Himself
Arrest Warrant Issued For Torres-Ochoa
By Dayle Cedars, 7NEWS Reporter

POSTED: 4:03 pm MDT November 1, 2010

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. -- An illegal immigrant accused of felony theft will not stand trial. Instead, he was given the chance to go home to Mexico.

Damacio Torres-Ochoa was scheduled in court Monday afternoon in Jefferson County to face charges of theft from an at-risk adult. But Torres-Ochoa never showed up in court. He was in Mexico.

"He self-deports," said Scott Storey, Jefferson County district attorney. "He says, 'You know what, I am illegally here, I don't want to fight it, get rid of me.' So what happens? They take him across the border. Do you think he comes back? Well my guess is he comes back and he comes back under another alias and we haven't got justice here."

Storey is outraged Torres-Ochoa was allowed to self-deport.

Storey said Torres-Ochoa bonded out of the Jefferson County Jail on Oct. 4. He was not allowed to leave, because Immigration and Customs Enforcement had placed a hold on him. Storey said on Oct. 6 ICE officials picked up Torres-Ochoa and on Oct. 19, Torres-Ochoa was flown to El Paso, Texas and walked across the border.

Robert Wallace, the victim in this case, learned of the deportation during the court hearing Monday.

"Some of it does not make any sense at all," said Wallace.

Storey said Torres-Ochoa drove the truck which was hooked up to Wallace's trailer when it was stolen.

"I don't know what to think," said Wallace, confused.

Torres-Ochoa faced 12 years in prison for the crime.

"If a person can self-deport without any consequences, you are treating him better than you are our own citizens," said Storey.

Wallace pleaded guilty in September to shooting at Damacio Torres-Ochoa and Alvaro Cardona while they were stealing the trailer. Cardona was shot in the head and suffered severe injuries. Wallace was sentenced to two years of probation for the shooting. He is now a convicted felon.

"I sat down and apologized to (Wallace)," said Storey, explaining how he said it was unfair Wallace had to face the consequences for his actions, yet Torres-Ochoa did not.

Storey said laws need to be changed to make sure something like this can't happen.

"When you have charges, felony charges, class 3 felony charges, that we are prosecuting, that have not come all the way through the system, (ICE) should be precluded from deporting (the suspect)," said Storey.

Storey said there is no law that requires immigration officials to keep an illegal immigrant in the country to face charges.

"It is almost like (ICE is) implicit in him escaping from justice," said Storey.

"By law, once we have received all necessary travel documents on an alien in ICE custody, we must remove him or her at the earliest opportunity," said Carl Rusnok, spokesman for ICE.

Storey said this entire thing would not be an issue had the judge, Thomas Vance, not reduced Torres-Ochoa's bond from $100,000 to $27,500.

"Thomas Vance knew he was an illegal because of the fact I had it on the paperwork," said Storey. "Yet he found it necessary to reduce it to $27,500."

Storey said he sent the chief county and district judges letters asking them to keep bonds high on known illegal immigrants because of their flight risk.

"It is a frequent problem that we local district attorneys face and it has got to stop," said Storey.

7NEWS contacted Vance who was unable to comment on the bond reduction, citing judicial rules on pending cases.

Torres-Ochoa used Reliable Bail Bonds to secure his bond.

7NEWS contacted Rosalie Montoya of Reliable Bail Bonds who said she will now apply for exoneration of forfeiture.

In 2007, the Colorado legislature passed a law that states if a bail bondsman secures a bond for a person who later turns out to be an illegal immigrant, the bondsman can get the bond back, minus the fee charged.

Montoya said the fee in this case was $2,750 for the $27,500 bond. Torres-Ochoa's sister also put up her house as collateral.

Montoya said she expects to gets everything back minus the $2,750. If for some reason she does not get the money back, she said she then has the right to go after Torres-Ochoa's sister's house.

On Tuesday, an arrest warrant was issued for Torres-Ochoa. His bond, if arrested, will be $250,000 cash.