Thread: Courts setting bond for those here illegally

Courts setting bond for those here illegally
Laurie Roberts
Republic columnist
May. 30, 2007 12:00 AM

The two men were arrested in mid-April, accused of a carjacking then driving to a Chandler shopping center to do a little shoplifting at Kohl's.

Angel Duran-Borboa, 23, admitted to police that he's here illegally and had been recently deported to Mexico, according to records on file at Maricopa County Superior Court. Prosecutors say Francisco Gonzales Cervantes, 24, was carrying "voluntary departure" paperwork from a March encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the time of his arrest. The two men had hooked up three weeks earlier while sneaking back into the United States and more specifically into Chandler, where they now stand accused of car theft.

Given Prop. 100, I'm guessing that you're guessing that they were denied bond. Wrong. advertisement




Voters may have said that undocumented immigrants accused of serious crimes must be denied bond, but try convincing the courts of that.

A commissioner set a $5,000 bond for Duran-Borboa and $4,500 for Cervantes, saying there was "no evidence" to prove the two are here illegally.

"There needs to be more than the statements of the defendant," Commissioner Steven Lynch wrote.

According to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, court commissioners are routinely setting bond for undocumented immigrants, rejecting the suspects' own admissions that they're here illegally and refusing to accept police reports that say so unless the officers are present to testify at hearings, which are often held in the middle of the night.

During two weeks in early May, prosecutors say only 27 undocumented immigrants were denied bond while 160 were either given bond or released without it. Already a few of them have been no-shows in subsequent court hearings.

"There seems to be a resistance on the part of the judiciary to enforce Prop. 100," Barnett Lotstein, the prosecutors' spokesman, told me.

"That's ridiculous," counters J.W. Brown, the court's spokeswoman. She says 350 suspected undocumented immigrants were accused of serious crimes during three weeks in April and May. Of those, 96 were denied bond while prosecutors offered plea deals to 70. Which, of course, leaves 184 eligible to get out of jail.

"The court is doing its doing its best to follow the law," Brown said. "The bottom line is you need to have something of evidentiary value that says, yes indeed, this person is here illegally."

Beyond their own confession, that is.

Brown says it'll be up the Court of Appeals to decide what proof is needed. The court heard arguments last week on whether Prop. 100 is constitutional and if so, what it takes to deny bond.

More, it seems, than they have on Gerardo Montoya Burgos. Mesa police arrested the 19-year-old in early April for carrying two loaded guns. Burgos admitted to police that he's here illegally and that he needed a gun to defend himself because he's in a street gang. Prosecutors say ICE put an immigration hold on him.

Yet Burgos qualified for bond: $18,000, cash.

Says Lynch: "The state has not proved the defendant is in this country illegally."

It also must take more than they had on Alfredo Jimenez-Palma, 33. He's charged with aggravated assault, DUI and failure to obey a police officer. He is accused of punching a guy in the face and then, when police intervened, getting into his car and driving away, dragging the officer who tried to stop him through a parking lot. Jimenez-Palma "made statements to officers that he jumped the Mexican border many times over the last 17 years and that if contacted by the police, he will run away again," police wrote.

He just may get his chance. Commissioner Barbara Spencer set his bond at $9,000.



Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8635. Read her blog at robertsblog.azcentral.com.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... 0530.html#

Unbelievable. We had a bail jumper here in Indiana as well.

Albeto G.'s gang of Judges doing exactly what they were ordered to do, everything they can to undermine the law and let the illegals back out on the streets.
What worries me is you can not begin to guess what the Bush admin. is up to, every time I think he and his partners can do no more harm something else comes up.
But these actions could cause so much chaos on our streets and Bush just giving himself so my power is very dangerous. I feel like he is looking for something or some way to declare marshall law. If this happens we all know where that is going. 2008 is all that need to be said.

If these invader are not going to stay out, what in the heck does the government think is going to happen when they're told to pay their "fines" to get their Z-visas????

"That's ridiculous," counters J.W. Brown, the court's spokeswoman. She says 350 suspected undocumented immigrants were accused of serious crimes during three weeks in April and May. Of those, 96 were denied bond while prosecutors offered plea deals to 70. Which, of course, leaves 184 eligible to get out of jail.

Note that this says SERIOUS crimes, not just running a red light. So they get out on bail, jump bail and go commit more crimes. They need Sheriff Joe to show them how to set up proper accomodations for criminals.

Contrary to Chertoff's statement, it seems 'catch and release" is alive and well.

"There needs to be more than the statements of the defendant," Commissioner Steven Lynch wrote.

If commissioners are elected to office, you (voters) need to make it clear to Steven Lynch he will be voted out of office.

There needs to be more than the statements of the defendant," Commissioner Steven Lynch wrote.

THIS IS INSANITY!

Originally Posted by tinybobidaho

Contrary to Chertoff's statement, it seems 'catch and release" is alive and well.

But he can get away with the lie because its the Judges letting them go, he's doing the catching and the judges are doing the releasing ,we just can't win can we they find a way around everything.
They should be prosecuted for not protecting americans, I'm sure it is in their oath of office.