Thread: AZ-Worker sentenced in Panda Express identity case

Worker sentenced in Panda Express identity case
By Kim Smith
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.23.2008

One more of the Panda Express employees who pleaded guilty to criminal impersonation was sentenced Tuesday to the time he’s already served in jail.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Frank Dawley, who presided over Norberto Hernandez Ochoa’s case, also designated the crime a misdemeanor, said Assistant Arizona Attorney General Douglas Clark.
Ochoa was among 11 Panda Express employees indicted on a single count of aggravated taking the identity of another, but later pleaded guilty to the less serious crime of criminal impersonation.
According to court documents, the Arizona Department of Public Safety received a tip in December 2007 that Marlen Yobana Moreno-Peralta, 24, had gotten a job at the Panda Express, 2485 N. Swan Road, Suite 101, using a fictitious Social Security card.
Authorities obtained a list of all of the employees working at the restaurant, along with their Social Security numbers.
Assistant Attorney General John Evans said an investigation revealed 11 of the employees were using Social Security numbers that didn't appear to be associated with their name, and they were arrested on March 18.
To date, Dawley has sentenced nine of the 11 defendants, including Moreno-Peralta, to the 112 days they already served in jail and designated the crime a misdemeanor. Most of the defendants were also ordered to pay $400 in attorneys fees and a $25 indigent defense fee.
The judge could have placed the defendants on probation or sentenced them to up to two years in prison. He also could have designated the crime a felony.
All 11 defendants were transferred from the Pima County jail to federal custody before their sentencing.
More than half are in the process of applying for residency status. The remaining have been deported, some voluntarily and some not.
Evans has said the plea agreements saved the state the expense of going to trial and allowed the defendants to begin their fight in immigration court.
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or at kimsmith@azstarnet.com.



http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/258953.php

Pima County Superior Court Judge Frank Dawley, who presided over Norberto Hernandez Ochoa’s case, also designated the crime a misdemeanor, said Assistant Arizona Attorney General Douglas Clark.

Aiding and abetting an illegal that is also guilty of document fraud, and/or identity theft should not be a misdemeanor, PERIOD! These guys just better be glad I am not a judge or a prosecutor, as I would have thrown in a small nuance of treason.
The laws of Pima County should be looked at with tweezers as should every law dealing with these invaders and thieves.