Thread: Life sentence possible in burglary-rape trial

http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cf ... 5626&rfi=6


06/21/2006
Life sentence possible in burglary-rape trial
Bob Campbell
Staff Writer
Midland Reporter-Telegram

A 23-year-old undocumented immigrant from Valle de Allende, Chihuahua, Mexico, could go to state prison for life if convicted of breaking into a married woman's apartment and beating and raping her on Aug.

21, 2005.

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In Tuesday morning testimony in 238th District Court, Midland Police Det. Manuel "Manny" Beltran said Erick Fernando Holguin-Morales was at first evasive when questioned that night at the police station.


After claiming he had had consensual sex with the now 20-year-old woman, "It changed to where she actually told him to stop and he didn't," said Beltran.


"Did he admit he pushed the door open and used force to have sex with her that morning?" asked Assistant District Attorney Steve Stallings.


"Yes, he did," Beltran said, explaining Holguin-Morales does not speak English and the interview was done in Spanish.


He is charged with first-degree felony burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit sexual assault and two second-degree felony sexual assault charges. He could get five to 99 years or life on the first count and from two to 20 years on each of the others.


Holguin-Morales is being defended by court-appointed attorneys David Rogers and Rick Navarrete, who said the trial will probably end today in Judge John Hyde's court.


The woman was beaten as well as raped, suffering "a split lip and knots on her head," said Stallings, who explained her husband was at work when the assault took place.


Jaime Tellez testified that he and his wife let the defendant live with them at Ashton Way Apartments at 2613 N. Midland Dr. "for three or four months" until a dispute led them to evict him the day before the alleged crime.


Tellez said he did not know the alleged victim, a neighbor, but saw her talking to police outside about 9:30 a.m. the next morning, a Sunday.


"Did she seem to be upset?" Stallings asked.


"Yeah, she was crying," Tellez told the eight-man, four-woman jury.


He said Holguin-Morales called him late that afternoon, before being arrested, acknowledged "the police were looking for him" and asked to be brought a bag of his possessions. Tellez declined.


Testimony is being translated through headphones for the defendant by freelance interpreter Linda Foster.


MPD Patrolman Leonard Hendon said Tuesday morning that he was the first officer to the scene. "There were a lot of people there and they all said it was Fernando Holguin, who had been staying in an apartment around the corner," said Hendon.


However, the officer said his immediate concerns were to ascertain the rapist was no longer in the victim's apartment and stay with her until Det. Nancy Hollingsworth arrived.






©MyWestTexas.com 2006

More of these "wonderful, hard working" illegal aliens. When is this insanity going to stop? We should be billing the Mexican government for the legal costs of trials and incarceration of this crap.

Shouldn't Mr. Tellez be charged with someone for allowing this illegal person to 'stay' with him???