Thread: Lawyer quits Democratic committee over case defending illega

Lawyer quits Democratic committee over case defending illegal immigrant
April 14, 2009

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MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) -- A lawyer and politician has quit the Burlington County Democratic Committee because of a dispute over her representation of an illegal immigrant.


Tracy Riley says she believes everyone deserves representation.

She was appointed by a judge to represent Lucio Garcia-Sanchez. The 19-year-old Camden resident is being held as a material witness in the case against his brother. His brother is accused of driving a truck in a crash that killed a middle school teacher in Evesham Township last week.

Burlington County Democratic Committee Chairman Rick Perr says Riley's private work may be at odds with the committee's mission to "represent the working families of Burlington County."

Riley remains on the township council in Mount Laurel.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/2009 ... 1/90414006

Brother cited as witness in fatal Evesham crash
By CAROL COMEGNO • Courier-Post Staff • April 17, 2009

A Burlington County judge designated a Camden man Thursday as a material witness in a pending case against his brother.

The witness, Lucio Garcia-Sanchez, 19, was a passenger in a pickup truck April 8 when the truck, driven by his brother Jose Luis Galindo-Sanchez, broadsided another vehicle, according to prosecutors.

The driver of the other vehicle, Amy Voorhees, 27, of Evesham, died that morning at the crash scene, at Troth Road and Route 70, authorities said. She was a DeMasi Middle School teacher.

Galindo-Sanchez, 26, of Camden and Garcia-Sanchez had been on their way to work when the crash happened, according to the county Prosecutor's Office. Neither man has been accused of causing the wreck or the fatality.

But Galindo-Sanchez encouraged his brother to leave the accident scene "in an effort to thwart law enforcement," according to the Prosecutor's Office. Galindo-Sanchez is charged with hindering apprehension, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

In addition, both men are illegal immigrants, authorities have said. They are being held in the Burlington County Jail. The case is expected to go before a grand jury.

Garcia-Sanchez was entitled to a material-witness hearing. Appearing before county Superior Court Judge Thomas Smith Jr. on Thursday, he waived his right to that hearing.

Normally, a material witness cannot be held in a jail or state prison.

But in this case, he is being held because of a detainer placed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE has placed detainers on both men, a provision that allows the federal government to hold them later.

Bail for Galindo-Sanchez is set at $62,400; for Garcia-Sanchez, at $10,000.

Garcia-Sanchez has been in the United States for seven years and worked two jobs, one at Star Sprinkler in Medford and the other at the Cherry Hill Mall, said Tracy Riley, his court-appointed attorney.

Riley said Garcia-Sanchez had been sleeping in the pickup truck when the crash happened April 8. She said he was tired from working the two jobs and did not witness the accident.

Reporter Adam Smeltz contributed to this report. Carol Comegno at (609) 267-9486 or ccomegno@courierpostonline.com


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