Thread: N.C. - Apartment fire suspect is in the country illegally, faces deportation after tr

Apartment fire suspect is in the country illegally, faces deportation after trial


Jesus Lopez Mecklenburg County Jail


July 21, 2017
BY MARK PRICE

The 20-year-old man accused of starting a fire that left 130 Charlotteans homeless this week is an undocumented immigrant and will likely be deported no matter the outcome of his trial for arson and attempted murder.

Jesus Reyes Lopez is a Mexican citizen and is wanted by U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement for being in the country illegally, the Mecklenburg County sheriff’s office said. If he is released from custody , he will immediately be taken into custody by ICE agents. He remained in Mecklenburg County Jail Friday morning.

Lopez was arrested Thursday in connection with the fire, and faces two counts of attempted murder, arson and damage to property by use of an incendiary device charges. He made his first court appearance Thursday and was appointed an attorney. His bond hearing will be Aug. 2, court officials said.

Police believe Lopez intentionally set the fire Monday morning at the Woodscape apartments on Farm Pond Lane. Fire investigators say 40 apartments were damaged by the fire and it left 130 people homeless.

Sources told TV station WSOC that Lopez was targeting an ex girlfriend as an act of revenge and that the fire got out of control.

The Red Cross is working to find housing for the 130 people displaced by the fire. As of Thursday, none had found a new place to live, agency officials said. The Red Cross is coordinating a community effort to find new homes for the families. Until then, many are staying at a Red Cross shelter or in the homes of friends and family.

The fire, first reported at 12:56 a.m. Monday, caused $1.3 million in damage.

Seven people were hospitalized after trying to escape the fire. Some families even jumped out of windows from second and third floor units to avoid the flames.

Lopez has no prior arrests in North Carolina, according to court records. His lack of legal status was uncovered as part of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Department’s participation in the 287(g) program, which calls for checking the immigration status of all inmates brought into the county jail.

Mecklenburg County has participated in the program since 2006.

In that time, Sheriff Irwin Carmichael said, the department has discovered it was holding undocumented immigrants who were wanted for felony child abuse, murder and possessing a weapon of mass destruction. As a result of such arrests, Carmichael believes participating in 287(g) makes both his staff and the community safer.

In the 2016 fiscal year, 1,241 foreign nationals went through the county program and 100 were deported, ICE spokesman Bryan Cox said earlier this year.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
on Thursday
CMPD has charged Jesus Reyes Lopez, 20, in connection with a fire that caused more than $1 million in damage and displaced 130 residents from an apartment complex on Farm Bond Lane.
Lopez was arrested this morning. He faces two counts of attempted murder, arson, and damage to property by use of an incendiary device charges.
CMPD thanks members of the community who assisted detectives with the investigation and arrest of Mr. Lopez.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/new...162835273.html

CMPD thanks members of the community who assisted detectives with the investigation and arrest of Mr. Lopez. What? He targeted an ex. so you know there are other illegals there and they CO-OPERATED with the police? Libtards swear they would be too frightened to co-operate! Guess that lie has been disproved LOL!

"The Red Cross is working to find housing for the 130 people displaced by the fire."

-------------------------------

If ANY of them are in this country illegally...deport them and let their President FIND them housing!

by BOB PRICE
25 Jul 2017
Charlotte, NC
1,883 comments

An illegal alien from Mexico sits in a North Carolina jail after allegedly setting fire to an apartment complex to get revenge on an ex-girlfriend. The fire left 130 residents homeless.

Police arrested Jesus Reyes Lopez, 20, after he reportedly started a fire at the Woodscape Apartments in Charlotte, North Carolina late last week. The fire damaged 40 apartment units and drove 130 people from their homes, the Charlotte Observer reported.

The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office uncovered Lopez’s immigration status utilizing equipment and training provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the 287(g) program. The program allows access to ICE databases to aid in identifying illegal immigrants and other possible security threats. Sheriff Irwin Carmichael told the local newspaper this program makes both his staff and the community safer. ICE officials placed an immigration hold on the Mexican national to prevent him being released back into the community.

Lopez now faces two counts of attempted murder, arson, and damage to property by use of an incendiary device, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department posted on its Facebook page.

Sheriff Carmichael praised the 278(g) program. He said that information obtained by utilizing federal immigration resources has uncovered illegal aliens wanted for felony child abuse, murder, and possessing a weapon of mass destruction.

Residents of the apartment complex were lucky to escape the fire with their lives. Some families jumped from second and third story windows to escape from the fire.

The local chapter of the American Red Cross is working to find homes for the 130 displaced residents.

The fire, allegedly started by Lopez, reportedly started to target his ex-girlfriend and then got out of control. Officials estimated the fire caused more than $1.3 million in damages.

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/...left-homeless/