Escaped Honduran juvenile crack dealer turns up in San Francisco
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, July 3, 2008

(07-03) 18:22 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- One of the eight Honduran juvenile crack dealers who fled from a San Bernardino County group home after being put there by San Francisco officials to shield them from deportation has been arrested back in the city, authorities said Thursday.

"He is in our custody," said William Siffermann, head of juvenile probation in San Francisco. "He was apprehended in San Francisco - there is no surprise there."

He said the youth had been arrested on suspicion of committing a crime, but said he did not know whether the offense was drug-related. The youth's name was not released because he is under 18.

Siffermann said he was working with San Francisco and Oakland police to "accelerate our efforts to return the remaining seven (missing Hondurans) into custody."

The arrest was the latest twist in a case that prompted a nationwide furor over San Francisco's policy of protecting immigrant juveniles caught dealing drugs, first by flying them to their native countries and then by putting them in group homes elsewhere in the state.

Last month, San Francisco juvenile probation officials, unable to continue flying juvenile Honduran illegal immigrants home after federal officials objected, decided to place eight of the offenders in the group homes in Yucaipa (San Bernardino County).

All eight promptly disappeared. San Bernardino County sheriff's officials said the youths had walked away from unlocked homes run by a nonprofit, Silverlake Youth Services, which was billing San Francisco $7,000 a month to house each juvenile.

San Francisco stopped sending youths to group homes, and this week, Mayor Gavin Newsom said the city would shift course and turn over illegal immigrant juveniles found guilty of felonies to federal officials for possible deportation.

Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency, said federal authorities held a "productive" meeting Thursday with San Francisco officials to discuss how the city will hand over offenders.
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