MA - Man accused of assault on trooper held for ICE probe
Man accused of assault on trooper held for ICE probe
Quote:
“Once again, we have a perfect example of someone who’s here illegally. A criminal alien should not have been in the country,” said Worcester county Sheriff Lewis Evangelidis.
bostonherald.com
By John Zaremba | Sunday, May 6, 2012 |
The man cops say was drunk when he tried to run down a state trooper during a traffic stop in Lynn is being held on suspicion he is an illegal alien, police told the Herald.
Nestor Mendez, 25, is being held at the Middleton Jail on a detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to state police spokesman David Procopio. He referred further questions on the matter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Once again, we have a perfect example of someone who’s here illegally. A criminal alien should not have been in the country,” said Worcester county Sheriff Lewis Evangelidis.
He is one of several Massachusetts lawmen who have bucked the will of Gov. Deval Patrick by pushing for the state to adopt Secure Communities, an immigration information-sharing program between local and federal authorities.
Jurisdictions without Secure Communities risk freeing illegal aliens without even knowing it, Evangelidis said.
“You’re really playing with fire when you don’t have immediate, instantaneous access to the Homeland Security database,” he said. “Thousands of people are detained and brought through the booking process, and we don’t know their immigration status. They have the opportunity to be bailed out and to disappear back into society.”
ICE spokesman Ross Feinstein confirmed the detainer on Mendez but could not specify why it was issued or Mendez’s country of origin.
“Detainers are critical for ICE to be able to identify and ultimately remove criminal aliens who are currently in federal, state or local custody,” he said.
Mendez was arrested about 9:30 p.m. Friday, after police say he fled a traffic stop and tried to run down trooper Bryan Erickson. Erickson jumped out of the way but was struck by another car, Procopio said. The trooper suffered shoulder and back injuries and was released from Salem Hospital hours later.
Trooper Paul Langone captured Mendez nearby and charged him with drunken driving, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, the car; assault and battery on a police officer; leaving the scene of a personal injury crash; and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, Procopio said.
source: Man accused of assault on trooper held for ICE probe - BostonHerald.com
