Thread: PA: How wanted illegal exited jail on bail

How wanted illegal exited jail on bail
Records not on hand. Certain things not part of documents that prison checks.

Monday, September 24, 2007
By MICHAEL BUCK
The Express-Times

When an illegal immigrant with a warrant out for his arrest was released from Northampton County Prison, it was because prison officials had no idea he was wanted by another county jurisdiction.

Northampton County Prison Director Todd Buskirk said the prison checked Jorge Ferreira, 30, for active criminal charges with negative results before his Sept. 14 release from prison.

Ferreira was in the prison after being arrested Sept. 2 by Bethlehem police on a charge of domestic violence.

But four days before Ferreira's release, a warrant from Bethlehem Township, Pa., was issued for his arrest on charges that stem from a stalking incident in late August.

Buskirk reviewed Ferreira's records and confirmed that his background was checked before he posted 10 percent of his $10,000 bail.

Buskirk said the Sept. 10 warrant was likely issued by a district judge. He said that means unless purposely entered into the state's Commonwealth Law Enforcement Assistance Network it would not show up on a records search. He said the prison uses JNET to check files, which returns information from the FBI's National Crime Information Center and the state network.

A system that would include district judge warrants in databases such as JNET and CLEAN is being developed, Buskirk said, although he could not give a timeframe for its launch.

Bethlehem Township, Pa., police Capt. George Boksan said the department does not enter every warrant into the NCIC and CLEAN database.

"First, it depends on the seriousness of the warrant," he said Friday.

Police try immediately to serve warrants involving violence or a threat to the public, and such warrants are entered immediately into the system, he said.

Easton police are required to enter all of their warrants into CLEAN, Easton police Inspector Matthew Gerould said. He said that helps the prison and other departments keep track of criminals that are arrested elsewhere.

"From what I understand it's not a state law that you have to" enter warrants, Gerould said.

Bethlehem Township, Pa., police Sgt. Rick Blake said it is not standard procedure for his department to automatically check if someone is already in prison when charges are filed. He said prison status is not shown in NCIC or CLEAN.

"We'll go looking for (criminals) first," Blake said.

Blake said the officer searching for Ferreira checked his Bethlehem address and his wife said Ferreira was in Portugal.

"She forgot to mention prison," Blake said.

Ferreira eventually was arrested Sept. 17 when a Bethlehem Township officer overheard radio transmissions from Lower Saucon Township police running names after a traffic stop, Blake said.

Ferreira is being held in Northampton County Prison in lieu of $20,000 bail on stalking, criminal trespass and harassment charges.

Blake said his department made sure to check with immigration about Ferreira's residency status. He said he was concerned why Bethlehem police did not check with Immigration and Customs Enforcement about Ferreira's status when they arrested him Sept. 2.

"Immigration already had been interested in this guy because (his file) mentions pending litigation," Blake said.

Bethlehem police Lt. Joseph Kimock reviewed Ferreira's Sept. 2 domestic violence arrest report and said it was not clear if the officer checked with ICE. He said Ferreira was processed with "live scan," a system that digitally scans fingerprints for identification and then checks against state and federal databases.

Kimock said the digital system does "apparently not" check ICE records.

"The system is still in its infancy," Kimock said.

Kimock said it is up to individual officer's discretion to check with ICE over residency status. He said it is not done unless an officer is suspicious.

Reporter Kurt Bresswein contributed to this story.

Reporter Michael Buck can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at mbuck@express-times.com

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hahahahaha ... sorry all.... but it's like Key Stone cop's revisited