Thread: CO: Fatal Aurora wreck illustrates illegal immigration chall

Fatal Aurora wreck illustrates illegal immigration challenge
By Judi Villa, Rocky Mountain News
Published October 21, 2008 at 10:30 a.m.
Updated October 21, 2008 at 7:27 p.m.

Illegal immigrant driving 77 mph in triple fatal in Aurora More Local NewsNeeko, the dog left to starve, gets a new home Yorkshire terrier Bobo stable after being set afire Kids played while mom slept More stories » In many ways, the case of Francis Hernandez illustrates the challenges police face on a daily basis when it comes to immigration enforcement.

Arrested by eight different jurisdictions in the past five years. Twenty-nine warrants for failing to appear. Twelve aliases.

Yet Hernandez, 23, repeatedly claimed he was born in California. He was actually born in Guatemala, was never flagged as an illegal immigrant and never faced deportation. When he was arrested last month after a triple-fatal car crash in Aurora, his case became a rallying cry for immigration reform.

And Gov. Bill Ritter ordered a systemic review of how state, local and federal law enforcement handle immigration enforcement in Colorado.

A 31-member working group met for the first time Tuesday. And Hernandez was a topic of discussion.

"We had no indication that this person was an illegal immigrant," Aurora police Chief Dan Oates said. "There's no place to call, there's no button to push, there's no query that automatically tells you if somebody is or is not a U.S. citizen."

Police say illegal immigrants are sapping resources from already strapped departments, and during a more than three-hour meeting Tuesday afternoon, they told the working group about the challenges they face enforcing immigration laws.

Officials at the Colorado State Patrol say troopers encounter about 500 illegal immigrants every week. Each one takes several hours to book.

Last year, Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said his agency referred 3,052 suspected illegal immigrants to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

In Aurora, Oates said officers and jailers made more than 2,500 ICE referrals last year. So far this year, they have made about 1,900.

The working group, made up of police, policymakers and community stakeholders, is tasked with identifying problems and information gaps related to immigration enforcement, discussing possible statutory changes and formulating policy recommendations. The group will meet five times through Nov. 17. Their report is due to Ritter by Dec. 31.

Hernandez's case helped spark the review. He is accused of broadsiding a pickup truck on Sept. 4 in Aurora, sending both vehicles careening into a Baskin- Robbins. Two women in the pickup truck were killed, as was a 3-year-old boy in the ice cream shop. Hernandez entered the U.S. illegally in 1991, authorities have said.

www.rockymountainnews.com

Officials at the Colorado State Patrol say troopers encounter about 500 illegal immigrants every week. Each one takes several hours to book.




Then that should be 2,000 illegal immigrants per month who are DEPORTED.

That's just one branch of law enforcement in one area......can you imagine the numbers nationwide?

Just imagine the dent put in the IA population if every last one of these individuals were handed over to ICE and deported.

And I don't want to hear it can't be done. We have the detention centers, we have the FEMA facilities.......these people can no longer be permitted to get away with their invasion of this country through the "sheer numbers" strategy.

Police: Meth use irrelevant in crash
DA's office files 9 more charges against Hernandez
April Washington
Published November 10, 2008 at 6:16 p.m.
Updated November 10, 2008 at 11:53 p.m.

It is immaterial that Patricia Guntharp - one of three people killed in a collision outside an Aurora Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop in September - tested positive for methamphetamine, police and prosecutors said Monday.

"Anything she has in her system doesn't change the outcome of the accident or the cause of the accident," Aurora police Detective Johnny Lee testified at a preliminary hearing for Francis Hernandez, 23. "It does not change the fact that (Hernandez) was running the red light at 78 miles an hour."

Guntharp was making a left turn near Mississippi Avenue and Havana Street when Hernandez punched through a red light and broadsided her pickup.

Killed were Guntharp, 49, of Centennial; Guntharp's passenger, Debbie Serecky, 51, of Aurora; and Marten Kudlis, 3, of Aurora, who was in the ice cream shop.

The Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office on Monday filed nine additional charges against Hernandez, including child abuse resulting in death. He now faces a total of 19 charges.

Judge Anne Ollada bound Hernandez over for criminal trial and set his arraignment for Dec. 11.

Guntharp's family members, many wearing black armbands, sat in the courtroom during the three-hour hearing.

Marten Kudlis' parents were also there. Both families declined to talk to reporters.

Nearly a dozen members of Hernandez's family also attended.

Before the hearing got under way, Hernandez winked at his 2-year-old daughter, who later was removed from the courtroom by her mother when she cried out for her father.

"I want my poppy," she said. "I want my poppy."

Brenda Aleman, the mother of Hernandez's children, called the hearing painful.

"They're not letting his attorney say anything to help him," she said as she wiped her tears. "The accident wasn't just his fault. It seems so unfair."

The Sept. 4 deaths rekindled a nasty immigration debate after it was learned that Hernandez was an illegal immigrant and had been arrested nearly 20 times but was never deported.

The case took a startling twist when an autopsy later revealed that Guntharp had enough methamphetamine in her blood to be considered intoxicated.

In testimony Monday, police said a data recording device in Hernandez's SUV showed he was going 78 mph two seconds before impact. Guntharp's speed was an estimated 10.4 mph.

"He killed a child and two women as result of his reckless driving," said Rich Orman, Arapahoe County assistant district attorney. "There is no evidence that Guntharp was driving bad; the issue is this defendant's reckless conduct."

But Kallman Elinoff, Hernandez's attorney, said when Guntharp turned left, she was 30 yards from the intersection and crossed a double-yellow line, which he called dangerous and illegal.

Elinoff unsuccessfully petitioned the judge to drop what he called excessive charges. He also argued that toxicology reports prove his client was not at fault.

"The fact that she was on methamphetamine did contribute to the accident," he said. "I think 12 reasonable jurors will see that."


www.rockymountainnews.com

"We had no indication that this person was an illegal immigrant," Aurora police Chief Dan Oates said. "There's no place to call, there's no button to push, there's no query that automatically tells you if somebody is or is not a U.S. citizen."

Police say illegal immigrants are sapping resources from already strapped departments, and during a more than three-hour meeting Tuesday afternoon, they told the working group about the challenges they face enforcing immigration laws.

That's because racist organizations like NCLR, mecha, lulac, et al do all they can to squander our resources on enabling illegal aliens from latin countries to continue to thwart our laws! They're not doing it for ALL illegal aliens, just for latino illegal aliens. Can't get much more racist than that! This has got to stop.

Well don't expect much from old "Tax Ritter". He's part of the obl crowd. So is the mayor of Denver, Hickenlooper or chickenlicker, whatever his goofy name is.

The mayor of Denver had, or still has a resteraunt in the city where illegals are welcome to work. He's making a mint paying them slave wages and he's turning a profit.

All I know is that crap needs to change!

Illegal Immigrant Accused In Baskin Robbins Deaths In Court
Francis Hernandez Arraignment Set

POSTED: 1:45 pm MST December 11, 2008


CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- A man accused of causing a crash that killed three people, including a child in an ice cream shop, is returning to court for a hearing.

Francis M. Hernandez was scheduled to appear in Arapahoe District Court Thursday on 19 charges, including vehicular homicide and child abuse resulting in death.

Hernandez is accused in the Sept. 4 deaths of 49-year-old Patricia Guntharp, 52-year-old Debra Serecky and 3-year-old Marten Kudles.

Hernandez ran from the crash scene, was picked up by a friend, and then showered and changed before police could arrest him roughly two hours after crash, police said.

Witnesses told police they saw a blue sport utility vehicle driving erratically -- speeding and weaving in and out of traffic. The southbound SUV ran a red light at Havana Street and Mississippi Avenue and broadsided a northbound vehicle making a left turn, witnesses said.

That vehicle, a white Mazda pickup truck, slammed into a utility box and a Baskin Robbins ice cream shop. Debris from that transformer snagged 3Kudlis, who was sitting by the window at Baskin Robbins, and flung him out of the ice cream parlor.

Guntharp and Serecky were in the pickup that was broadsided and died at the scene.

Authorities say Hernandez is an illegal immigrant from Guatemala and didn't have a driver's license.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/18 ... etail.html

Oh but he really is a good man at heart just trying to work to provide for his family.................

With every story mounting, I almost begin to think that our governemnt and Corporate America have enterred into a genocide against we the people.

Suspected illegal immigrant pleads innocent in crash that killed 3
By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published January 9, 2009 at 6:09 p.m.
Updated January 9, 2009 at 8:33 p.m.

CENTENNIAL — Francis Hernandez looked sheepishly to the ground Friday when he entered a not guilty plea in the deaths of three people he is accused of killing in a collision outside of an Aurora Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop last September.

"We're looking for a fair trial," said Hernandez's attorney, Kallman Elinoff, following his client's arraignment hearing. "I remain adamant that my client didn't cause the accident."

Arapahoe County Court Judge John Wheeler set a speedy trial date of May 8, when jury selection is expected to begin.

Hernandez, 23, a suspected illegal immigrant, is accused of causing the death of two women and a toddler when he sped through a red light at 78 mph at the intersection of East Mississippi Avenue and South Havana Street.

His SUV collided with a white Mazda pickup making a left turn into a burger joint, causing it to careen into the ice cream shop.

Killed was the driver of the pickup, Patricia Guntharp, 49, of Centennial, and her passenger, Debbie Serecky, 51, of Aurora and Marten Kudlis, 3, of Aurora who was inside the ice cream shop and ensnared by the wreckage.

Family members of the victims declined to comment Friday.

Hernandez faces 19 charges in connection with the Sept 4, 2008 crash, including vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of the accident and child-abuse resulting in death.

"The prosecution will work hard to seek justice for the community and will work hard to support the victims' family members," said Kathleen Walsh, spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County District Attorney office.

Hernandez's attorney has maintained Guntharp was responsible for the fatal crash because she made an illegal left turn into the exit of the Good Times burger restaurant into oncoming traffic.

Aurora police cleared Guntharp of any wrongdoing and said a data recording device in Hernandez's SUV showed he was going 78 mph two seconds before impact. Guntharp's speed was an estimate 10.4 mph as she made the left turn.

www.rockymountainnews.com

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