Thread: Man Accused Of Backing Over Baby Faces Immigration Charges

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/10216025/detail.html

Man Accused Of Backing Over Baby Faces Immigration Charges

Lorenzo Barraza is in federal custody being charged as an illegal immigrant re-entering the U.S. as an aggravated felon.

And because he has previously been charged with second degree murder, his sentence may be even longer.

Just a few days ago, KFOX reported how Lorenzo Barraza, the uncle of 2 -year-old Noel Posas, admitted to Dona Ana sheriffs that he accidentally ran over baby Noel. But, Barraza won't be charged for this incident. Instead, he faces federal charges of being here illegally.

"He was processed again for re-entry deportation and is being held at the Dona Ana Detention Facility," said Roger Garcia, public affairs official for Border Patrol El Paso Sector.

Because of his second-degree murder conviction back in 1982, Barraza faces aggravated felony charges.

The statutory sentence for an aggravated felony charge is 20 years in federal prison, but immigration attorneys say illegal immigrants who face this charge never serve that long.

"The sentencing guideline range is determined by the court and is usually less, far less than the statutory maximum, which is 20 years," said Norm Carins, prosecuting attorney for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Mexico.

This is the third time Barraza, who is from Mexico, has been found illegally here in the U.S. and the border patrol said it is not uncommon to find people in the U.S. who have crossed multiple times illegally.

"In fiscal years 2006, we identified 13,636 criminal individuals, now these crimes range anywhere from misdemeanor , DWI, to felony, murder, rape or kidnapping charges," Garcia said.

Yet, immigration prosecutors believe illegal immigrants who have criminal backgrounds do usually get longer sentences than those with no criminal history.

"The way the sentencing guidelines work is that if the defendant who has illegally re-entered the United States after deportation who has a more serious felony conviction record, usually receives typically a greater sentence," said Carins.

Barraza only served three years of a six-year sentence in a state prison for his second-degree murder charge.

But, if he is convicted of re-entry as an aggravated felon, he will have to serve all of his time in a federal prison and will not be eligible for parole.

Border Patrol said after he serves his sentence, if he is convicted, he will then be deported back to Mexico.

Immigration attorney Norm Carins said Barraza will most likely face his first appearance before a judge in Las Cruces within a few weeks.

For our safety they should keep him incarcerated. It is blatantly obvious that he will come back to the United States after his deportation. Wake up and smell the coffee.

You know, just a thought, soon there will be more mexicans in American prisons than mexicans in mexico!!!

There are a lot of them in prisons here. There have been interesting shows about California prisons which house dangerous gang members. It has been shown numerous times on Court TV. They have a really bad gang in there called the Mexican Mafia. Some of those gang members live in cages that would similar to those that people have ourdoors for their dogs. The Hispanic gangs attempt to control the prison and the drug trade in there. They are such a threat the African American gang members for the various gangs united to prevent intimidation by the Hispanics and the white non Hispanics got their own group as well.
The Hispanic gangs aren't only a threat to us but even more so to the prison guards. The number of them injured is unbelievable. I don't recall the actual statistics but it was high and many of the guards and those who specialize in breaking up their fights are concerned about their safety.