(ILLEGAL)Immigrant seeks new bail hearing in Ayer
Nashoba Publishing
Posted: 10/28/2011 02:17:13 PM EDT

By Lisa Redmond

MediaNews

AYER -- A Mexican national who was held without bail as a danger after being charged last month with his sixth drunken-driving offense wants a new bail hearing after prosecutors discovered that he didn't have three prior drunken-driving convictions in California.

In Ayer District Court yesterday, prosecutor Felicia Sullivan amended Eduardo Alementa Torres' charge of operating under the influence charge sixth offense down to third offense.

The Middlesex District Attorney's Office was able to confirm that Torres was twice convicted for operating under the influence of alcohol in cases in 2000 and 2004, but three prior drunken-driving convictions out of California were in error.

As a result, Torres' attorney Iris Grabarek asked for a bail hearing before Ayer District Court Judge Peter Kilmartin on today to ask him to set bail for Torres. A trial is scheduled for Dec. 19.

The Torres' case sparked political wrangling over whether or not Massachusetts ought to submit to the federal Secure Communities program, which pools fingerprint information between the FBI and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencies to help identify criminal aliens.

In an earlier interview, ICE spokesman Chuck Jackson said ICE became involved with Torres at the Middlesex County Jail and deported him from the U.S. for the first time on Dec. 14, 2004 after completed his second Massachusetts drunken-driving conviction at the Cambridge Jail.

Less than six months later, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested Torres again on March 24, 2005 and deported him two days later.

When CBP encountered Torres again on March 13, 2006 in Calif., Torres was deported the same day, according to Jackson.

Torres was arrested Sept. 24 by Boxboro police when an officer noticed an expired inspection sticker on the black 1988 Chevy pickup truck Torres had driven into the Gulf gas station.

The officer found a 12-pack of Modello beer bottles and one open bottle on the front seat. Torres appeared glassy-eyed and smelled of alcohol, according to police. Torres failed to provide a valid license and allegedly provided a fake name.

More than an hour after the original stop, Torres allegedly registered a .09 blood-alcohol count, which is slightly over the legal limit of .08.

http://www.nashobapublishing.com/ayer_news/ci_19215709