Friday, January 22, 2010

Family wants to know why; Protest in Ozark County murder case brings prosecution of federal immigration laws into question

Regina Wynn regina@ozarkcountytimes.com



The family of Alonzo Foster Jr. want to know why the federal government isn't prosecuting the mother-in-law of the illegal Mexican immigrant Jesus Sesena-Murrieta, who is accused of killing the 22-year-old. Foster's sister Jacky Foster-Holt believes that if the woman had not allowed Sesena-Murrieta to remain on her property Foster would still be alive. Times photo/Regina Wynn



(Editor's note: It is the Ozark County Times' policy not to name a person who is accused of a crime, but has not been charged. In that regard, we have chosen to omit the names of Jesus Sesena-Murrieta's wife and mother-in-law. See related letter, here.)

"We only want justice for my brother," said Jacky Foster-Holt.

That was the reason Foster-Holt and dozens of family and friends gave for a protest on the Gainesville square Thursday morning.

In July 2008, her brother, 22-year-old Alonzo Foster Jr., was shot and killed, allegedly by Jesus Sesena-Murrieta, 26, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, during an altercation while spending the day with his family at a popular swimhole near Mammoth. The swimhole is on private property owned by Sesena-Murrieta's mother-in-law.

Foster-Holt and her family want to know why Sesena-Murrieta's mother-in-law has not been charged in Foster's death. "She broke at least two laws and she's walking around free and our brother is dead," Foster-Holt said.

Frustrated with what they feel is injustice, the Foster family and friends staged the protest on the courthouse lawn, hoping that someone would answer their questions.

The Foster family cite the two federal laws they believe the woman broke – one under Sec. 8 u.s.c. 1324 (a) (1) (A) (iii) and (B) (iii) and (B) (iv) and Sec. 18 u.s.c. 922 paragraph d-5.

"First she broke the law by hiding him, letting him live at her house," Foster-Holt said. "And then, she broke it by supplying him with a gun. And she's not being held responsible for either crime."


"My hands are tied"

But even if local law enforcement or prosecuting attorney attempted to arrest and charge Sesena-Murrieta's mother-in-law with a crime, they couldn't. According to the same law (Sec. 8 u.s.c. 1324), the Ozark County prosecuting attorney does not have the authority to charge her with harboring an illegal alien. The prosecuting attorney can only charge and prosecute for state crimes and harboring an illegal alien is a federal law, not a Missouri law. Local law enforcement does not have the authority to enforce U.S. immigration law.

And from the beginning of the case, even before Sesena-Murrieta was arraigned, federal officials with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) and the Mexican consulate in Kansas City were contacted about Sesena-Murrieta. However, they chose to leave him in Ozark County to be charged and prosecuted for murder. They did not take action against his wife or mother-in-law.

"I.C.E. was here the day we arrested him," said Ozark County Sheriff Raymond Pace. "They knew where he was. They knew he was illegal. They knew he was married to her daughter. But they weren't concerned about it at all. It's the same thing with (Sesena-Murrieta's mother-in-law). We can't do anything at all.

"It's a federal law. Yes, I can arrest them. Yes, I can bring them to jail. But what can I do with them after that?"

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Springfield office says it is aware of the Sesena-Murrieta case.

"(At this time) we're not going to do anything to muddy the water, or jeopardize the state's criminal case," I.C.E.'s Mike Spinella told KY3 News in a recent story.


Still waiting for justice

"We feel like we're being let down by our own country," Foster-Holt said.

But the Foster family has not given up hope that their voice will be heard and that Sesena-Murrieta's mother-in-law will be charged.

"She's not being held responsible for anything," Foster-Holt said. "He may have pulled the trigger, but she gave him the opportunity to do it."

And even while attorneys held depositions in the case just a few miles down the road at the Ozark County Sheriff's office, the family continues to picket, frustrated at the apparent lack of action by the federal government. They hope that their actions will bring some sort of justice for their brother.

Sesena-Murrieta remains in the Ozark County Jail awaiting trial. In late 2008, he was granted a change of venue to Laclede County and a trial date has yet to be set.



Sec. 8 u.s.c. 1324 can be found at www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/8/1324.html



Sec. 18 u.s.c. 922, the statue about supplying illegal immigrants with guns can be found at www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/922.html

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