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Police arrest fugitive immigrant from Texas
By Eugene Driscoll
THE NEWS-TIMES

DANBURY — City police and federal agents arrested an immigrant wanted by Texas police Monday at his residence on Franklin Street.
Police said 19-year-old Jose Puma was convicted for an unspecified sex offense when he was a minor living in Texas.

Puma served some jail time in Texas. He was supposed to be deported because he was in the U.S. illegally. However, Puma moved to Danbury when he turned 18.

Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tracked him down, said Danbury police Det. Lt. Tom Michael.

"He was wanted for deportation," Michael said. "He was convicted of a sex offense while he was a juvenile in Texas, but I don't have the information on that."

Puma was arrested at about 1:30 p.m.

ICE has been very busy in Danbury in recent weeks.

On Valentine's Day, ICE detained a Danbury deli owner after walking into his store to ask why more than 100 illegal immigrants caught trying to sneak into the U.S. all gave his deli's address as their destination.

The man told police he did not know why illegal immigrants were using his address. He was detained after authorities said his citizenship papers were not valid.


On Feb. 17, ICE and city police arrested a man from First Street wanted for murder in Brazil. He was also an illegal immigrant.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, who was in Washington, D.C., Monday for a forum on immigration reform, said the recent arrests show a solid relationship between city police and federal authorities.

The mayor noted Danbury detectives are part of a multi-agency task force investigating immigrant smuggling. The agencies trade information on a variety of matters.

"These arrests could have been an offshoot of that investigation," Boughton said.


Contact Eugene Driscoll

at edriscoll@newstimes.com

or at (203) 731-3348.