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  1. #1
    Administrator Jean's Avatar
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    IA: Not enforcing immigration laws has put citizens in dange

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    Not enforcing immigration laws has put citizens in danger

    SIOUX CITY -- I am responding to an article appearing in the Journal on Tuesday headlined “Lawyer: Workers’ legal status ‘meaningless.’â€
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

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    Senior Member MyAmerica's Avatar
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    Estherville is part of Siouxland. According to 2005 Census estimates, Estherville has a population of 6347.

    Thursday, March 20, 2008

    Mexican Man Living In Estherville Sentenced On Federal Immigration Charge

    (Sioux City)-- A man from Mexico who had been living in Estherville has been sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for illegally entering the United States from Mexico.

    22-year-old Jose Miranda-Avalos pleaded guilty on February 21st, 2008 to one count of illegally entering the U.S. in August, 2007 after previously being removed in January of 2007. Avalos was discovered back in the U.S. in August, 2007 when he was arrested in Emmet county and charged with interference with official acts and public intoxication.

    Miranda-Avalos will face a removal hearing because of his conviction after he is released from prison.

    He's being held in the custody of a federal marshall until he can be transported to a federal facility.

    http://www.exploreokoboji.com/news_loca ... ?sty=80981

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    Took 10 years to bring him to trial because he escaped to Mexico and had to be extradicted and Mexico wouldn't extradite if he faced the death penalty or life in prison.

    Castillo-Alvarez guilty in killing
    By Russ Oechslin Journal correspondent


    EMMETSBURG, Iowa -- Judge Don E. Courtney found Juan Humberto Castillo-Alvarez guilty of all three charges filed against him related to the slaying of 15-year-old Gregory "Sky" Erickson in June 1997 in Jackson County, Minn.

    EMMETSBURG, Iowa -- Judge Don E. Courtney found Juan Humberto Castillo-Alvarez guilty of all three charges filed against him related to the slaying of 15-year-old Gregory "Sky" Erickson in June 1997 in Jackson County, Minn.

    Courtney announced his verdicts in open court here Friday afternoon. Sentencing will be imposed March 4 in Clay County District Court in Spencer.

    Castillo-Alvarez, 32, faces up to 85-years in prison on the three charges -- second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony -- if the sentences run consecutively, rather than concurrently.

    The minimum time he will serve is 35 years as second-degree murder carries a 50-year sentence and the requirement that 70 percent of the time actually be served. The kidnapping charge carries a 25-year term. Both are Class B felonies. A 10-year sentence is mandated on the conspiracy charge, which is a Class C felony. There is no provision for parole on the conspiracy charge.

    After the hearing, Mike Zenor, who was Clay County attorney in 1997, said the verdict was "a relief. I thought this would be the verdict, based on what I knew of the evidence. Nevertheless, it's gratifying to see the actual verdict."

    While Zenor said he had no opinion on what the judge would do with the sentences, he admitted that "if I were handling the case I think I'd ask for consecutive sentences."

    The initial kidnapping took place in Spencer, in Clay County. where Sheriff Randy Krukow explained late Friday that Mexico would not extradite Castillo-Alvarez for any offense that would have meant a death sentence or life imprisonment.

    "But there's nothing in the agreement that I'm aware of that would not allow the sentences to run consecutively," the sheriff noted.

    When he's done serving his term, Krukow says Castillo-Alvarez will be returned to Mexico "if he lives that long. Even if he was found not guilty, he would have been returned to Mexico."

    "It was because of the extradition agreement that Castillo-Alvarez was charged with second-degree murder, instead of first," Zenor added.

    "FBI agent Bob Birnie from Sioux City (who is now retired) really deserves a lot of the credit for the extradition," the former county attorney explained. "He was the one with the boots on the ground so-to-speak as far as accomplishing the extradition. He was responsible for making it happen."

    Birnie would say only that "justice has been served."

    Castillo-Alvarez' three-day bench trial was held in Clay County last September and Courtney directed the prosecutor and defense attorney to make written closing arguments. The defendant had been extradited to Iowa from Houston in 2006 after being returned to the United States from Mexico. The charges against him were filed in 2004.

    Castillo-Alvarez has the distinction of being the longest term prisoner in the Clay County Jail, according to Krukow, having served 476 days as of Friday.

    "Sky" Erickson's father, Greg Erickson, and grandfather, Marv Erickson, were present for the sentencing as were some of Castillo-Alvarez' friends and family who declined to identify themselves or offer any statements on the verdicts.

    Sky's father said he had "been waiting a long time for the guilty verdicts and I'm glad it's ending with a bang. I hope the judge will make the sentences consecutive, not concurrent."

    The sheriff echoed Erickson's comments, noting that "the trial was a long time in coming, but an especially long time for the family."

    Before the verdicts were announced, Sky's grandfather explained that he "couldn't see the judge could find any other way. That jailhouse confession kinda set him up for being guilty of the whole thing."

    Courtney made note of that testimony in his findings. "While the defendant was incarcerated in the Clay County Jail pending trial, he met Gabriel Utrera Cedillo.

    "While he was incarcerated with the defendant, he had conversations with the defendant. The defendant told Cedillo that approximately 10 years previous he had fronted him drugs, the day of payment came and the payment was not made.

    "The defendant then told him that he sent Mexican people and American people to bring the American child from Spencer to Estherville and that he had ordered him to be beaten and then killed.

    "He further stated that everything went well and he received the weapon, a .38 caliber pistol, back that he had given them to use.

    "Witness Cedillo went on to state what the defendant had told him: 'The child was beaten as was ordered; he was killed as was ordered; the weapon was returned."

    Although Sheriff Krukow says Castillo-Alvarez was in the United States illegally, the convicted felon was operating a restaurant in Estherville, Iowa, at the time of the murder. It was only after Erickson's slaying that he was linked to drug trafficking in the area.

    Others found guilty of involvement in the murder include the actual shooter, Luis Lua, who since receiving a life sentence following his conviction has been detained at a federal prison in Tucson, Ariz.

    Also receiving life sentences with Lua, in 1998, were Ramiro Astello, Ryan Wedebrand and Juan Carlos Astello. Tom Mann is serving a 50-year term, Shawn Knakmuhs, 18 years, and Ben Alden, eight years.

    Two other defendants, Sarah Kozak, and Aurelio Ortiz, were sentenced in 1999 to prison terms of 5.25 and 18 years, respectively, for their involvement in Erickson's death.

    Each convict listed an Estherville address at the time of his or her arrest.

    Link
    --------------- ----------
    Saturday, January 26, 2008 ~ Updated 10:17 AM

    By Russ Mitchell
    Daily Reporter Staff

    A culture of drugs and weapons carried a heavy price for the people involved in the death of a 15-year old Estherville boy in 1997.

    As of Friday afternoon, 10 people were accused and 10 people were held responsible for the disappearance and death of Gregory Sky Erickson.

    Juan Humberto Castillo-Alvarez was convicted of second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony. Evidence presented at a bench trial last fall convinced Judge Don Courtney that Castillo-Alvarez ordered, or should have anticipated, the death of Erickson in June 1997.

    Castillo-Alvarez fled to Matamoros, Mexico, as investigators began looking into suspicions about Erickson's death. The former restaurant owner from Estherville remained in hiding for about 10 years. He was extradited and brought back to Clay County on Oct. 4, 2006.

    During Castillo-Alvarez's time as a fugitive, nine people were charged and convicted for roles in Erickson's death.

    Four of the nine conspirators are serving time in the federal system and are scattered in facilities from Wisconsin to Arizona. Three people were convicted of state charges because they were teen-agers at the time of their arrests. They were tried as adults and are serving time at three different facilities in Iowa. Two participants in the crime have been released after serving time in the federal prison system.


    * Luis Lua, 31, will spend his life in prison. He confessed to orchestrating the kidnapping and torture that led to the end of Erickson's life. He also fired the bullet that killed Gregory Sky Erickson in an abandoned farmhouse in Jackson County, Minn. He is being held in the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Ariz., which is a high-security prison for males only. Lua pleaded guilty, in federal court, to charges of kidnapping resulting in death, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and use of a firearm during a crime of violence on Feb. 17, 1998. He avoided the death penalty as part of his plea agreement.

    * Aurelio Ortiz, 31, was one of the main distributors in Juan Humberto Castillo-Alvarez's drug operation and participated in the attack on Erickson in a Spencer apartment. He is serving time in the medium security United States Penitentiary in Marion, Ill. He was sentenced on Aug. 3, 1999, after entering a guilty plea in federal court for using a firearm during a crime of violence. His anticipated release in the federal system is Feb. 22, 2013.

    Ortiz also was sentenced to 35 years in state prison on May 7, 1998, after being convicted on four counts involving methamphetamine distribution in Emmet County. Iowa District Judge James Scott ordered service on Ortiz's state sentence not begin until after he has finished "any prison term for pending federal charges."

    * Shawn Knakmuhs, 32, was believed to be the main enforcer for Ortiz. He was present at the apartment when Erickson was beaten and taunted Erickson as he was being taken to Estherville. Knakmuhs also went to the death scene to set fire to the building and dispose of evidence.

    Knakmuhs pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and using a firearm in a crime of violence. He was sentenced to slightly more than 18 years in prison on Aug. 13, 1998. He is currently being held at the Federal Correctional Institution medium security prison in Beaumont, Texas. His expected release date is Sept. 10, 2013.

    * Ryan Wedebrand, 27, is serving a life sentence at Anamosa State Penitentiary after a Clay County jury convicted him of first-degree murder and kidnapping in February 1998. He was one of four conspirators who accompanied Lua to the farmhouse where Erickson was murdered. After Lua fired the fatal bullet, he handed the weapon to Wedebrand. Each gang member at the farmhouse was asked to fire a bullet at Erickson as a gesture of solidarity.

    Wedebrand fired the second bullet and handed the gun to another conspirator. Both of Wedebrand's convictions carry life sentences without the possibility of parole. District Court Judge Frank Nelson handed down the sentences on April 10, 1998.

    * Juan Astello, 27, was prepared to fire the third bullet into Erickson's body at the farmhouse, but the gun jammed. He also participated in the torture of Erickson along the route to Minnesota. He was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping by a Kossuth County jury in March of 1998. The kidnapping conviction carries a life sentence. He was sentenced on April 10, 1998 -- about an hour after Wedebrand received his sentence. He is being held at the Fort Madison State Penitentiary.

    * Ramiro Astello, 28, is being detained in the medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Oxford, Wis. He was sentenced on May 17, 1999, after convictions for kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, drug trafficking and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. He also was in the car on the way to the rural Minnesota crime scene and was in the basement when Erickson was killed. He is serving life in prison.

    * Thomas Mann, 27, entered a guilty plea to a second-degree murder charge and was sentenced on Monday, Aug. 3, 1998, at the Clay County Courthouse. The charge carries a 50 year sentence. He is currently being detained at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility. He is the only suspect of five at the Minnesota farmhouse who is not serving a life sentence. His tentative discharge date is Jan. 2, 2040.

    * Sarah Kozak, 29, was Lua's girlfriend, according to evidence at her July 1998 federal trial. She was accused of luring Erickson into a Spencer apartment where he was beaten, and transporting him to Estherville against his will. She entered a guilty plea to a two-count indictment charging her with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and to being an accessory after the fact to violent crimes in aid of racketeering. She was sentenced to 60 months on one count and 63 months on the second count and allowed to serve both sentences at the same time. She was released on April 14, 2004.

    * Ben Alden, 29, received an eight-year sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping. He sold drugs and was present as Erickson was being beaten in the Spencer apartment. He also tried to cover up aspects of the death. He was sentenced on Aug. 13, 1998 and released on Sept. 25, 2005

    http://www.spencerdailyreporter.com/story/1306831.html

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    Citizenship, Immigration or gang-related status not given--says more charge are possible and internet page can't be displayed concerning charges filed for trial.

    Two Men Arrested After Machete Attack
    Police arrest two Siouxland men, after they were dispatched to a fight in Estherville, Iowa Sunday morning..............

    Police say further charges are possible.

    Updated: August 13, 2007, 8:37 pm

    http://www.ktiv.com/News/index.php?ID=15937
    *************
    "Distrust and caution are the parents of security."
    Benjamin Franklin

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