Thread: AL: Murder suspect jumps bail

September 25, 2010
Murder suspect jumps bail

By Jean Cole
Sat Sep 25, 2010, 02:00 AM CDT

An illegal immigrant charged with reckless murder following a five-car accident that killed two people in December 2009 is at large.

Although he was considered a flight risk, Jose Guadalupe Ibarra-Morante, 44, of 27558 Spruce Road was released from the Limestone County Jail on Feb. 26 and has not been heard from since. Big Dogs Bail Bonding posted a $60,000 bond securing Ibarra-Morante’s release on two counts of reckless murder. He was scheduled to appear July 1 for arraignment — a hearing to answer the charges —but he failed to do so.

His release has prompted Limestone County District Attorney Kristi Valls to ask Limestone judges to inform the D.A.’s office before lowering bond. In Ibarra-Morante’s case, bond was effectively reduced because the defendant went from having no bond to having a $60,000 bond.

He was first arrested Dec. 21, 2009, and charged with murder in connection with the Dec. 12 wreck that killed a couple on Old Rail Road Bed Road.

During Ibarra-Morante’s initial appearance — a hearing in which a judge explains the charges, the defendant’s rights, appoints counsel and sets bond — District Judge Jerry Batts denied the defendant bond because he was in the country illegally and was considered a flight risk.

After Ibarra-Morante was formally charged by a grand jury in February, Circuit Judge James Woodroof Jr. set bond at $60,000. Under Alabama law, defendants are entitled to have a bond set unless they are charged with capital murder. Woodroof did not know when he set bond at $60,000 that Ibarra-Morante was a flight risk. The rules of criminal procedure recommend that judges follow a bond range of between $15,000 to $75,000 unless there are special circumstances. For example, a judge can set bond higher if the defendant is a flight risk.

After a defendant is indicted and appears at his or her arraignment, a judge usually lets stand the bond set during the defendant’s initial appearance. In only about 10 percent of cases will a judge raise or lower the initial bond, Valls said. The district attorney said she would have preferred, in this case, the bond be set higher.

Although Morante was in the country illegally, he apparently did not have a hold placed on him by Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the wreck. A hold prevents a prisoner’s release no matter what his or her bond.

The wreck

After the Dec. 12, 2009, wreck, state troopers determined that Ibarra-Morante committed multiple traffic violations, including alcohol consumption and improper passing, which caused a five-car collision that killed Richard Doty, 66, and passenger, Doris Cory, 62. The couple was heading home at the time.

A trooper said Ibarra-Morante was passing several vehicles in his 2003 Cadillac on Old Railroad Bed Road, just west of Huntsville city limits, about 6:50 p.m. that Saturday when he struck a 1999 Oldsmobile driven by Doty head on, killing Doty and Cory. Another passenger in Doty’s car, Christine Doty, who was 14, was injured.

Debris from the head-on crash turned it into a five-car accident that also injured Kenneth Mangrum, 47, driver of a 2005 Toyota, and passenger Pamela Mangrum, 42, both of Harvest. Two other drivers were involved in the wreckage but not injured.

http://enewscourier.com

There should be no bond at all for any illegal alien under any circumstance. because they're already subject to federal detainment under federal law for being in our country illegally. Obviously, all our states need an Arizona immigration law that makes them subject to state detainment under state law.

It's simply amazing that we keep hearing these stories ,what kind of judge expects an illegal immigrant to show up for their court date ?

Although Morante was in the country illegally, he apparently did not have a hold placed on him by Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the wreck. A hold prevents a prisoner’s release no matter what his or her bond.

There were several failures. Two people are dead, one severly injured and the drunk, reckless, illegal that should not have been here in the first place gets off scott free.

No one has gone after his emplyer either and he was not here living on his good looks.

[quote]February 26, 2010

Man charged with reckless murder after 5-car wreck
By Jean Cole
jean@athensnews-courier.com jean@athensnews-courier.com Fri Feb 26, 2010, 02:00 AM CST

ATHENS — A Toney man has been formally charged with two counts of reckless murder in connection with a five-car wreck that killed two people in 2009.

Jose Guadalupe Ibarra Morante, 45, of 27558 Spruce Road, was recently indicted by a Limestone County grand jury in connection with a five-car wreck that killed two people Dec. 12 on Old Railroad Bed Road.

Although he had been initially charged with reckless murder following the wreck, Morante was formally charged Wednesday. He has been held without bail in the Limestone County Jail because District Judge Jerry Batts declared him a flight risk at his initial appearance and denied bond.

Accident investigators believe Morante committed traffic violations, including alcohol consumption and improper passing, which caused the collision that killed Richard Doty, 66, and passenger, Doris Cory, 62.

“We have witness accounts of the collision,â€

added to homepage
http://www.alipac.us/article5689.html

Originally Posted by Judy

There should be no bond at all for any illegal alien under any circumstance. because they're already subject to federal detainment under federal law for being in our country illegally. Obviously, all our states need an Arizona immigration law that makes them subject to state detainment under state law.

He should have never been here in the first place=Governments fault
He should have not been let loose after capture=Governments fault
NO bail bondsman should ever take an illegal immigrant out on bond=their fault

Originally Posted by onetrickydude

Originally Posted by Judy

There should be no bond at all for any illegal alien under any circumstance. because they're already subject to federal detainment under federal law for being in our country illegally. Obviously, all our states need an Arizona immigration law that makes them subject to state detainment under state law.

He should have never been here in the first place=Governments fault
He should have not been let loose after capture=Governments fault
NO bail bondsman should ever take an illegal immigrant out on bond=their fault

Correct! And any state or federal judge who lets them go on bond or without should be held financially liable for any and all costs and damages associated with that release including the cost of recapture. We aren't spending billions of dollars a year on court systems to release illegal aliens back into society once they're in custody and the court system better catch the hell up with both the will and the laws of US Citizens.

ALL illegal invaders accused of a crime in which a loss of life has occured must be considered a flight risk! There should be no way an illegal invader ever bonds out in a case like this, because an ICE hold should have also been placed on this criminal, which would have remanded him immediately into the custody of ICE if he happened to bond out.

Just another example of how our federal government has again failed Americans!

Exactly...Insanity- Judges/lawmakers creating the same mistakes over & over, then expecting the proper results.

I hope the bail bondsman gets screwed out of every cent!