Man pleads guilty, faces deportation
By Kate Braser
Tuesday, January 29, 2008

A man originally scheduled for trial this week in a case where he was accused of driving drunk, crashing into a school bus and then fleeing charges for about a year has pleaded guilty in the case. He now faces deportation.

In court records, the defendant is identified by three names: Gabino Gonzalez, Jose Luis Torres-Rodriguez and Avenamar Morales-Perez.


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The U.S. Department of Justice believes the suspect's name is Jose Luis Torres-Rodriguez, but officials with the Mexican consulate have identified him as Morales-Perez.

The 26-year-old was scheduled to go to trial in the case this week, but court records show he recently filed a guilty plea in the case.

He was charged with criminal mischief, a Class D felony, and three misdemeanor counts. If the plea agreement is accepted by Vanderburgh Superior Court Judge Mary Margaret Lloyd on Feb. 14, Morales-Perez will be convicted of the Class D felony charge and of operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person, a Class A misdemeanor. The additional misdemeanor counts would be dismissed.

The plea agreement calls for Morales-Perez to serve six months in prison, which he served already.

In addition to receiving time served, his driver's license will be suspended for one year and — as a special condition of his sentence — he must submit to Immigration and Naturalization Service for further deportation procedures.

In October 2006, Morales-Perez was accused of walking away from a hospital after causing an accident at Shadewood and Sweetser avenues.

Only minor injuries were reported in the crash, which caused more than $2,500 of damage to the bus. Morales-Perez was admitted to the hospital for head trauma, and once he was released, he left the city.

Police issued a warrant, but did not hear from Morales-Perez again until almost a year later, when Dubois County Sheriff's Department deputies arrested him after a traffic stop.

Morales-Perez previously has said he has no Social Security number and no home address. He is a resident of Mexico.

According to a news release previously issued by the Evansville Police Department, Morales-Perez was deported once before.


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