Illegal immigrant found in Kmart says he's hungry



October 7, 2009

BY ERIN GUERRA

VALPARAISO -- An illegal immigrant who described himself as "hungry" was found inside Kmart when he set off a motion alarm after the store closed Monday night.

He was wearing a glow-in-the-dark "Scream"-type mask and standing behind a Halloween candy display when he was discovered.

The doors still were locked at 11:40 p.m. when police arrived at 2801 Calumet Ave., and it did not appear anyone was there. An employee let officers inside and determined the motion detector in the sporting goods section was activated. On the way to the back of the store, officers found the suspect, who had been eating Hot Fries chips and Jolly Rancher candy taken from the store's shelves, according to the police report.

The man admitted he was already inside when employees locked the doors and left.

The suspect spoke only broken English and his Mexican driver's license identified him as Jose Beltran Arinaga, 24. He had no cash or credit cards on him, just job applications for two local businesses in his pockets, police said.

Officers searched the building with canines to make sure no one else was inside. Kmart security will be reviewing surveillance video to determine when Arinaga arrived and what he did before being discovered.

He was booked at the Porter County Jail for trespassing, police said, although additional charges are expected.

http://www.post-trib.com/news/porter/18 ... 7.article#