I-Team 10 investigation: Albion Wal-Mart murder suspect's background

Posted at: 11/03/2011 4:30 PM | Updated at: 11/03/2011 7:54 PM
By: Brett Davidsen | WHEC.com

On the day Luis Rodriguez-Flamenco was arrested for the fatal stabbing of Kathleen Byham in the Albion Wal-Mart parking lot, he was out on bail in a neighboring town and on probation for a burglary conviction in another state. All the while, his status as an illegal alien had gone undetected.

I-Team 10 has begun looking at the circumstances that resulted in his being able to remain a free man on the day of the murder. In late August, Rodriguez-Flamenco was arrested in the village of media, accused of punching a 15-year-old girl in the face. Charged with misdemeanor assault and child endangerment, the town judge set his bail at $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond. That might have kept him behind bars.

But Rodriguez-Flamenco's public defender went to Orleans County Court Judge James Punch and successfully argued to have the bail reduced. Punch re-set bail at $2,000, which Rodriguez-Flamenco posted and he was set free.

We're told it's not unusual to have a judge in a higher court re-evaluate the bail set by a town judge. Rodriguez-Flamenco was accused of a misdemeanor, so Judge Punch must have thought that $25,000 was too steep, given the charges.

What Punch, the town judge and the Medina Police Department apparently didn't know was Rodriguez-Flamenco's true identity. When he was arrested in Medina, he provided a social security card and other documentation used the name Roberto Rivera Vega. The phony documents stated he was from Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, which would have given authorities no reason to question his legal status.

I-Team 10 has learned that Rodriguez-Flamenco was employed at a farm in Albion working in the onion fields. He started work there just this year. The owner declined to speak on camera, but said that he was also given the same fake name and identification.

It's possible that Rodriguez-Flamenco's legal status might have been discovered a few years ago. He was convicted of burglary in Valdosta, Georgia in 2008 using the name Luis Rodriguez. There is a warrant there for his arrest for a violation of his probation. We were not able to reach authorities there to find out what they might have known about his background.

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