Thread: IN: Officials say man in South Bend accused of murder is in

June 3, 2010

Officials say man in South Bend accused of murder is in U.S. illegally
By KRISTIN BIEN
WSBT-TV Reporter

SOUTH BEND — The man accused of beating his roommate to death with a baseball bat and throwing his body in the St. Joseph River was in the United States Illegally.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told WSBT News that both the suspect, 30-year old Rios Baltazar (also know as "Elex" and "Chino"), and the victim, Miguel Rivera, were illegal immigrants. In fact, Rivera was even deported in 2004.

Baltazar is facing murder charges in the case. But federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say they placed a detainer on him. That means he shouldn't be released from police custody unless it is to immigration officials.

Baltazar's ex-girlfriend told WSBT that he is from Acapulco, Mexico. WSBT can't confirm that information, but the St Joseph County Prosecutor's Office says if convicted, Baltazar will serve out his sentence here in the U.S. and then be deported back to Mexico.

It is not known how the two men met or how long they had known each other. They lived together in the house on East Bowman Street in South Bend.

Baltazar remains in jail. An initial court date has been set for 8 a.m. Wednesday.

http://oneoldvet.com/

www.southbendtribune.com

Roommate charged in South Bend slaying
Victim's body found Thursday in St. Joe River.

By ALICIA GALLEGOS
Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND — According to court documents, the owners of an East Bowman Street home noticed a series of strange behaviors from one of their renters shortly after the disappearance of his roommate.

First, court documents state, was the large amount of water in Elex Baltazar's kitchen.

Next was the unexplained repainting of a freshly painted wall in the home.


Finally, there was the rearranging of furniture in the house, including a couch cushion moved outside.

But what homicide investigators found deeper inside the Bowman Street house was even more disturbing, according to documents.

Prosecutors on Tuesday charged 30-year-old Baltazar — also known as "Baltazar Salas Rios" and "Rios Salas Baltazar" — with murder in the death of Miguel Ezekiel Rivera.

Rivera's body was found floating Thursday in the St. Joseph River by two swimmers in Elkhart. According to police, the man's body was wrapped in a blanket tied with wiring. An autopsy determined Rivera died from blunt force trauma to the head consistent with being struck with a baseball bat.

After an initial investigation by Elkhart police, officers determined Rivera likely died in his South Bend home, and they contacted the St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit.

According to a charging affidavit released Tuesday, once inside the house, homicide officers found:

Blood spatter on the living room couch, an end table and behind the baseboard of the repainted wall.

A bloody aluminum bat in the basement.

A van parked at the home splattered with blood.

Diluted blood drops on the kitchen floor.

Wiring matching the wiring used to tie the blanket around the victim.

A cell phone belonging to Rivera found in the ashes of an old fire.

When confronted by officers, Baltazar allegedly denied involvement in his roommate's death, telling police Rivera disappeared one day and he hadn't heard from him since.

Baltazar did not have an explanation for why he repainted the wall in the home and did not explain the large amount of water previously observed in the kitchen.

Baltazar is to be arraigned at 1 p.m. today. He remains at the St. Joseph County Jail without bond.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/article ... 20324/1130

Yet the Bloomington, IN, City Council is "up in arms" about SB 1070 and has voted to boycott Arizona:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-201718.html

Originally Posted by Texas2step

Yet the Bloomington, IN, City Council is "up in arms" about SB 1070 and has voted to boycott Arizona:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-201718.html

Somebody influential is making money with the IA presence in that area.

Ratbstard wrote:
"Texas2step wrote:
Yet the Bloomington, IN, City Council is "up in arms" about SB 1070 and has voted to boycott Arizona:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-201718.html

Somebody influential is making money with the IA presence in that area."

Yes, and as a native of the middlewest, it makes me so especially sad because I know how willing many every-day people of the region are to believe the line that this is a matter of supporting "civil rights" and opposing "racial prejudice", when in fact it's mostly about corporate farmers, most of them in other parts of the country, and construction companies (likewise) maintaining access to a never ending supply of cheap foreign labor at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer. grrr. Arizona has become a hero to many in the rest of the nation now as the truth about this issue becomes more widely recognized.