Federal agents take Mexican national into custody after guilty plea on Murray Complex fire

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK
STAFF WRITER
Published: Thursday, December 4, 2008 9:11 AM EST

WILKES-BARRE — An illegal immigrant whose bonfire of loose clothing and lighter fluid spread into a ravaging inferno at the Murray Complex Building last year could be sent home to Mexico after pleading guilty Tuesday to a felony arson charge.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took Raul Tlatenchi, 24, into custody immediately upon his release Tuesday afternoon from the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, First Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Tokach said.

Tlatenchi, whose address was listed on court documents and arrest papers as 21 O’Neil Ave., Wilkes-Barre, lived at the prison for more than a year since the Oct. 20, 2007, fire — three months longer than the minimum sentence levied by Judge Michael T. Toole.

At a hearing Tuesday, Toole granted Tlatenchi credit for time served and ordered his release on immediate parole, but said he still faced an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer.

A detainer is a notice sent from one law enforcement agency to another, indicating that an inmate faces additional charges in another jurisdiction or possible deportation and should not be released.

“They picked him up right away,â€