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Alleged illegal alien arrested after hit-and-run traffic accident
By RON INGRAM - H&R Staff Writer
- Published online on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 11:40 PM CDT
DECATUR - A man who told Decatur police he entered the United States illegally from Mexico 16 years ago was arrested at 7:38 p.m. Monday for investigation of his residency status and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident.

Bond was set at $20,000 on Tuesday in Macon County Circuit Court for the man, who repeatedly told police his age is 30 but who also gave a birth date in 1973 that would make him 31. He had two sets of identification on his person when arrested and police are unsure of his identity.

When asked for his real name, the suspect cursed at officers and said, "Take me to jail," according to a sworn statement filed in court by patrolman Brian Earles in support of the bond request.

In a second sworn statement, patrolman Michael J. Claypool stated that at 6:47 p.m. Monday officers were sent to the scene of a traffic accident at Woodford Street and Barrington Avenue. He said a white van and a motorcycle were both heading north on Woodford when the van driver switched lanes without checking traffic, striking the motorcycle and causing it to crash.

The motorcycle driver, Patrick W. Tatum, was treated at Decatur Memorial Hospital for a broken wrist and abrasions.

A witness to the accident followed the van and, before losing sight of it, allegedly observed a Hispanic man wearing a white T-shirt behind the wheel, Claypool said. At 7:10 p.m. Monday, patrolman Chad Shull located the white van in the 1000 block of Gibson Street with a Hispanic male sitting behind the wheel, he said.

The witness was brought to the scene and identified the driver as the man he saw leave the accident scene, Claypool said. The suspect was arrested for investigation of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and failure to give aid or information at such an accident.

The suspect later was booked into the county jail for investigation of obstruction of justice and possession of a fictitious drivers license after two licenses and a state identification card with two different names on them were found in his possession, Earles said.


A check of Illinois Secretary of State's records found a suspended license for one name and a revoked license for the other name, Earles said. When interviewed by a detective, the man allegedly said a resident alien identification card in his possession was a fake that he paid $100 to obtain.