Thread: NC-Three rape, kidnapping suspects in US illegally

Three rape, kidnapping suspects in US illegally


By Richard Gould

Published: January 15, 2010

HICKORY - The U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement has confirmed that the three men arrested and charged with rape in a weekend attack are in this country illegally.

Milion Estuardo Barrios-Ortiz, 30; his brother Eddy Fernando Barrios-Ortiz, 25; and Carlos Andreas Carranza-Zeledon, 21, of Hickory, were arrested and charged with first-degree rape, robbery with a firearm, first-degree sexual assault and kidnapping.

Each is being held on a $1 million secured bond.

Carranza-Zeledon is Costa Rican. The Barrios-Ortiz brothers are Guatemalans. The three will stand trial in Catawba County.

The attack occurred Saturday night. The three suspects are accused of pulling a woman from her car, putting a plastic bag over her head and threatening her with a gun.

Police say they forced the woman to give them her debit card and PIN so they could withdraw money at an ATM. Then they drove her to another location where they raped her before dropping her off on CSI Farm Road in Brookford.

Although the Barrios-Ortiz brothers were Guatemalan nationals and did not have a legal right to work in this country, both were employed at area McDonald's restaurants at the time of the attack.

Eddy worked at the North Center Street location. Milion worked at the Fairgrove Church Road McDonalds.

"They no longer work for us pending further police investigation," said McDonald's Owner-Operator John Link. "It's unfortunate that those men were working for us at that time."

Link owns seven McDonald's locations in and around Lenoir, Hickory and Conover – including the Fairgrove Church Road location. He oversees operations at an additional nine locations including the North Center Street restaurant.

Link said every one of his employees are required to file federal tax forms and to present the proper identification when doing so. The Barrios-Ortiz brothers complied with the procedure when they were hired.

"Every employee must have an I-9 filled out," he said. "There's no way for me to verify if the documents are false or invalid," Link said.

Eddie had worked for McDonald's since September 2008. In that time he hadn't had any rule violations or issues, Link said.

Following the arrest of the Barrios-Ortiz brothers and the revelation of their immigration status and employment, Link said he would continue to follow federal and state guidelines in the hiring practices at the McDonald's location he oversees.

Eddy's first court appearance was Tuesday. He was assigned a court-appointed attorney and his bond was increased from $300,000 to $1 million. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 28.

Milion and Carranza-Zeledon were in court Wednesday. They too were assigned court appointed attorneys. Their bonds remained in place at $1 million. Their next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 3.

ICE will conduct an investigation to decide if the men will be deported following their trial if they are found not guilty or following their prison sentence if they are convicted.


http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/content/2 ... illegally/

Although the Barrios-Ortiz brothers were Guatemalan nationals and did not have a legal right to work in this country, both were employed at area McDonald's restaurants at the time of the attack.

Once AGAIN McDonald's is involved, this company as a whole needs to be checked and hecked again for hiring illegals in EVERY State.

"Every employee must have an I-9 filled out," he said. "There's no way for me to verify if the documents are false or invalid," Link said.

Maybe there should be a national database that ALL employers could use to verify that their employees are legally allowed to work in this country?

Maybe we could call it E-verify

Just hard working McDonald folks.sarcasm This is who Obama wants out of the shadows?

Maybe they would start using e-verify if enough folks called and asked nicely.

McDonald's (HQ)
912 Second Street NE
Hickory NC 28601-3851
(82 322-2505
(82 322-4408 {Fax}
Restaurants/Cafes/Taverns
Mr. John Link, President