Thread: Immigration agents detain suspect in Alabama shooting death of Huntsville 5-year-old

By Ashley Remkus
on January 31, 2017 at 9:12 AM


Fidel Canchola
Limestone County Jail

A man accused of fatally shooting a 5-year-old girl at an Athens New Year's party has been taken into custody by federal immigration agents.

Fidel Rodriguez Canchola, 34, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that determines whether a person legally resides in the United States and whether he or she faces deportation.

Canchola was jailed in connection with the death of Regina Hernandez, a 5-year-old from Huntsville.

ICE picked up Canchola at the Limestone County Jail after obtaining a "detainer" that asked the Sheriff's Office to hold the suspect, said Stephen Young, a sheriff's spokesman.

Canchola had been held with bail set at $20,000 on a misdemeanor charge of criminally negligent homicide since his arrest on Jan. 1. Within 48 hours of Canchola posting bail last week, ICE agents, as allowed per the detainer, picked up the suspect.

ICE became involved after local authorities couldn't verify Canchola's citizenship status.

Sheriff's investigators have said the shooting is believed to be accidental.

Canchola was in the yard of his Athens home on Buckskin Drive when he fired multiple shots from his pistol to celebrate the new year around midnight, authorities said. About 25-30 people were at the home for a party.

Hernandez, who was inside Canchola's mobile home, went outside and ended up in the line of fire, Young previously told AL.com.

Canchola, who fled the scene, was taken into sheriff's custody hours after the shooting.

Canchola's arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 7 at 9 a.m. in Limestone County Circuit Court. It's unclear how the ICE detainer will affect the suspect's scheduled appearance, at which time he is supposed to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

If convicted of the Class A misdemeanor, Canchola faces no more than a year in a county jail.

http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...tain_susp.html

Adam Smith 6 hours ago



An illegal immigrant accused in the accidental shooting death of a five-year-old girl on New Year's Eve may have been granted bond because he did not pose threat to anyone, according to a spokesperson with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Amanda St. Jean, a regional public information officer with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, said 34-year-old Fidel Rodriguez Canchola would not have been eligible for bond if he was deemed a danger to public or national security or was subject to mandatory detention.

“Any bond or conditions of release an immigration judge orders are those the immigration judge determines are required to compel the alien’s presence at future hearings,” St. Jean said Friday in response to a request for information about the bond process for illegal immigrants.

A spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told The News Courier last week that Canchola was released from ICE custody on Feb. 24 after being granted bond by a federal immigration judge.

Bond process for illegals

St. Jean also provided background on the bond process for illegal immigrants. She said the Department of Homeland Security sets the initial bond for a respondent and is responsible for collecting the bond amounts. DHS also employs the trial attorneys who present the government’s case.

“The Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review employs immigration judges who act independently in deciding the matters before them,” she said. “The immigration judges conduct bond redetermination hearings when an alien in custody seeks a reduction in the amount of bond, or when specific federal circuit case law requires it.”

She added that during bond redetermination hearings, the immigration judge may decide to lower, raise or maintain the bond amount set by DHS or otherwise change the conditions of release.

The incident

The shooting occurred at a New Year's Eve party on Buckskin Drive. Those on the scene initially said the gunshots came from down the street. Interviews and the presence of .22-caliber shell casings on the ground led investigators to believe Canchola had fired several rounds in the yard toward the ground.

Five-year-old Regina Hernandez of Huntsville was reportedly hit in the chest when she walked into the line of fire. She was later pronounced dead at Athens-Limestone Hospital.

Following the shooting, Canchola was charged with criminally negligent homicide, a Class A misdemeanor. He was released on $5,000 bond, but was then rearrested on a hold for ICE on Jan. 26.

Canchola waived arraignment on the Limestone County charge of criminally negligent homicide, a Class A misdemeanor, and pleaded not guilty on Feb. 13.

http://www.enewscourier.com/news/loc...b938df2a9.html

Originally Posted by Jean

By Ashley Remkus
on January 31, 2017 at 9:12 AM


Fidel Canchola
Limestone County Jail

A man accused of fatally shooting a 5-year-old girl at an Athens New Year's party has been taken into custody by federal immigration agents.

Fidel Rodriguez Canchola, 34, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that determines whether a person legally resides in the United States and whether he or she faces deportation.

Canchola was jailed in connection with the death of Regina Hernandez, a 5-year-old from Huntsville.

ICE picked up Canchola at the Limestone County Jail after obtaining a "detainer" that asked the Sheriff's Office to hold the suspect, said Stephen Young, a sheriff's spokesman.

Canchola had been held with bail set at $20,000 on a misdemeanor charge of criminally negligent homicide since his arrest on Jan. 1. Within 48 hours of Canchola posting bail last week, ICE agents, as allowed per the detainer, picked up the suspect.

ICE became involved after local authorities couldn't verify Canchola's citizenship status.

Sheriff's investigators have said the shooting is believed to be accidental.

Canchola was in the yard of his Athens home on Buckskin Drive when he fired multiple shots from his pistol to celebrate the new year around midnight, authorities said. About 25-30 people were at the home for a party.

Hernandez, who was inside Canchola's mobile home, went outside and ended up in the line of fire, Young previously told AL.com.

Canchola, who fled the scene, was taken into sheriff's custody hours after the shooting.

Canchola's arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 7 at 9 a.m. in Limestone County Circuit Court. It's unclear how the ICE detainer will affect the suspect's scheduled appearance, at which time he is supposed to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

If convicted of the Class A misdemeanor, Canchola faces no more than a year in a county jail.

http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/in...tain_susp.html

Am I reading this right? A Class A misdemeanor?