Thread: An Immigrant's Tale

http://www.lonsberry.com/writings.cfm?story=1646&go=4

Bob Lonsberry Written April 29, 2005

Today's Column

AN IMMIGRANT'S TALE

Let me introduce you to somebody.

His name is Jacobo Javier Rivera-Mejia. He is 31 and a native and citizen of Honduras. But now he lives at the Utah County jail.

He’s the poster boy for what’s wrong with our immigration and criminal justice systems.

We’ll pick up his story in 2000, when he made the acquaintance of the West Jordan Police Department. It was some kind of fight, records show, and he got hit with four misdemeanors.

One for threatening to use a deadly weapon, one for disorderly conduct and two for illegally carrying a concealed dangerous weapon.

That’s the first place he turns up in the Utah courts. But there may be much more. He has a Maryland record, for instance, and who knows where else he’s been or what happened back in Honduras.

But we do know he got those four misdemeanors in 2000 in West Jordan, 10 days before they caught him going 44 in a 25.

And we also know that they had to issue a warrant for him because he blew off the hearing. Two months later, when he got the DUI down in Provo, they caught up with him and brought him into jail. But the good people at A-Plus 24-Hour Bail Bonds got him out.

Finally before a judge, he was declared an indigent person and a state-paid lawyer took his case. All of this was relayed to Mr. Rivera by the state-paid Spanish interpreter.

Just like his next two court appearances were.

Finally, a “diversion agreement� was reached and by promising to obey the law and by forfeiting the illegal weapons taken from him by police, all four charges were dismissed.

But that still left him with the DUI.

Which he didn’t show up to court for, which led to another warrant, which led to some troubles with A-Plus 24-Hour Bail Bonds, which apparently had Mr. Rivera on the frequent flyer list.

But he showed up and the warrant was cancelled and A-Plus 24-Hour Bail Bonds was in the clear.

Though Mr. Rivera was still indigent and still couldn’t speak English so for a series of court appearances he had a state-paid lawyer and a state-paid interpreter. And when the whole thing was done he plead no contest to a reduced charge and they gave him probation and community service.

Sixteen whole hours of community service.

And a six-month jail term, which was suspended.

Somehow, this didn’t teach Mr. Rivera his lesson and in January of last year he was stopped for DUI again. Apparently the American dream still eluded him, as he filed an affidavit of indigency and was given a state-paid lawyer.

This sashay through the courts ended with another no-contest plea and another six-month jail term, all but 10 days of which was suspended.

He also got some probation terms.

All of which he seems to have blown off.

Which got him six more months of probation.

Which he seems to have blown off.

Anyway, he was on probation for the second DUI when he got the sodomy on a child. That’s a first-degree felony. It was just last fall.

Surprisingly, Mr. Rivera didn’t show up for a court date and a warrant was issued. He was on the lam until they got him on a traffic citation – driving on a suspended license.

Then it was some more of the indigent thing, and some more interpreters, a lot of interpreters, and a motion by the defense to suppress the statement of the victim.

When the proceeding finally came, the state wasn’t ready to proceed and a defense motion to dismiss was granted.

People say the reason the prosecution wasn’t able to go forward is because the victim’s family was told that if they testified they would all die in a car wreck.

People also say others who might have criminal complaints against Mr. Rivera were told that if they notified police they would be deported.

But who knows if people know what they’re talking about. What is for sure, though, is the charge was dismissed.

Which brings us up to this week.

To Monday, specifically, when Mr. Rivera had a friend give him a ride to the courthouse in Provo. Here’s what the Orem police reported about that in an interagency memo sent to area departments.

“Jacobo Javier Rivera-Mejia, of Orem, was arrested Monday by Provo Police on child sex abuse charges committed in Orem, allegedly at Rivera-Mejia's apartment at 1270 S. Sandhill Road.

"The crimes were discovered by a female friend of the suspect who gave the suspect a ride to Provo on Monday. After dropping the suspect off, the woman noticed the suspect had left his cell phone in her car. The woman looked at the cell phone and found stored photos in the phone showing evidence of sex crimes involving two different 5-year-old girls. The woman immediately reported this to the Provo Police because that's where she was. Provo tracked down the suspect where he had been left by the woman and arrested him. The suspect reportedly tried to run from the Provo officers when they first approached him, but they did a nice job and got him before he could escape. It was later determined that the crimes recorded on the phone actually happened in Orem and our investigators became involved.

"Rivera-Mejia was booked into the Utah County jail on charges of Rape of a Child and Sodomy of a Child, both first degree felonies. Immigration has placed an INS hold on the suspect, who is originally from Honduras.

"Orem investigators have since identified and interviewed both victims, neither of whom are related to the suspect by blood or marriage. There is a real concern that the suspect may have victimized other children. The Children's Justice Center in Provo has already been contacted by another potential victim after the suspect's arrest was made public yesterday. The suspect has a record of arrest in Maryland and Utah.�

That’s how he comes to be in the Utah County Jail.

What’s not known, however, is how he came to be in America. Or how he came to still be in America.

That “INS hold� the Orem police wrote about, that’s what the old Immigration and Naturalization Service did with illegal aliens. It means that the federal government has dibs on you, and you’re not to be released from jail, because when the locals are done with you the feds want to deport you.

INS holds are virtually always used on illegal aliens, though they can also be used on other foreign naturals who have jeopardized their residence here.

So the odds are Mr. Rivera is an illegal alien. And if not, he is still a foreigner who has violated his conditions for being here.

Of course, one of those two things was also true when he got his first offense. And his second, third, fourth and fifth.

At any step along the line, as an illegal alien or as a resident alien flagrantly breaking the law, this man should have been sent back to where he came from. He should have been deported. Common sense and the law demand it.

But the government didn’t do it.

The first mention of any INS interest in this man at all didn’t come until his second rape-of-a-child arrest while he was on probation for his second DUI.

Which strikes me as reason enough to build a very big wall along the Mexican border.

Jacobo Javier Rivera-Mejia is just one reason why illegal immigration is wrong.

There are at least 10 million others.


- by Bob Lonsberry © 2005

I am so very angry my words are stuck in my throat

We must, MUST put a stop to this insanity!! We must protect our country from falling any further into this --I don't have any printable words left.

Originally Posted by 2ndamendsis

I am so very angry my words are stuck in my throat

We must, MUST put a stop to this insanity!! We must protect our country from falling any further into this --I don't have any printable words left.

I am angry about this also, but there are millions (25-30 million, and not the false often quoted 8 or 11 million) of stories which are ALL similar. These people are here ILLEGALLY, thus breaking the law. When elected and non-elected bureaucraps fail to uphold the law, this act allows for extended lawlessness. The above shows just how pervasive this can become.

H.

HUSKER, the numbers could be as high as 50 mil when one includes families.

Please read the "ILLEGAL MURDERS WOMAN" that I posted this am. This is in my backyard and I've had clients in that area. NOW...a few people are "concerned!" Only NOW.


This guy has had an arrest warrant out on him for some time.....what other things has he done that aren't even known?