Alien won’t be deported before trial in death
Alien won’t be deported before trial in death
Boston Herald
By Christine McConville
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
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ARRAIGNED: Blanca Contreras faces charges in hit and run death yesterday.
The Guatemalan illegal alien accused of running down a Waltham man in a crosswalk the night before Thanksgiving is back in state custody until she stands trial for Scott Coxall’s death.
Waltham District Court Judge Gregory Flynn yesterday agreed to Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone’s request and ordered Blanca Contreras, 32, held without bail.
Homeland Security spokesman Ross Feinstein applauded the decision, saying the federal agency “is committed to ensuring that illegal aliens who face criminal charges go through the criminal justice system prior to deportation.”
Contreras is accused of motor vehicle homicide, driving without a license and a battery of other offenses, all linked to the Nov. 23 crash that led to Coxall’s death.
After she pleaded not guilty on Dec. 5, her cousin Osman Barrera paid the $50,000 cash bond required for her release.
Before she could walk free, the federal government arrested her for violating its immigration policies. Authorities say Contreras came to the U.S. 11 years ago on a 90-day tourist visa and has been here illegally ever since.
In April, when a federal immigration judge agreed to let Contreras return to her native Guatemala, the Coxalls joined Leone’s office and Homeland Security in a protest. They all said Contreras ought to be forced to stand trial.
Yesterday in court, Flynn sided with their concerns, by first revoking her earlier bail, then ordering her held without bail.
Flynn also refused to release Contreras’ bond money, saying a Middlesex Superior Court judge is holding it until there’s a resolution to the wrongful death lawsuit the Coxall family filed against Contreras and Barrera.
Court records show that Barrera, 31, a Boston University custodian for the past nine years, owns the 2001 Nissan Pathfinder that Contreras was allegedly driving on Nov. 23. He also owns the two-family Waltham home where Contreras lived with her husband and their 3-year-old son, a U.S. citizen.
The Coxalls’ lawyer Richard LeClair III has argued that Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., which insured the Pathfinder and Barrera’s two other cars, will likely only pay the Coxalls $100,000.
Last month, LeClair placed a $500,000 attachment to the Mount Pleasant Street home that Barrera purchased with Misael Lopez in 2001 for $305,000, records state.
source: Alien won’t be deported before trial in death - BostonHerald.com
