Thread: Escaped Honduran juvenile crack dealer turns up in SF

Escaped Honduran juvenile crack dealer turns up in San Francisco
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, July 3, 2008

(07-03) 18:22 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- One of the eight Honduran juvenile crack dealers who fled from a San Bernardino County group home after being put there by San Francisco officials to shield them from deportation has been arrested back in the city, authorities said Thursday.

"He is in our custody," said William Siffermann, head of juvenile probation in San Francisco. "He was apprehended in San Francisco - there is no surprise there."

He said the youth had been arrested on suspicion of committing a crime, but said he did not know whether the offense was drug-related. The youth's name was not released because he is under 18.

Siffermann said he was working with San Francisco and Oakland police to "accelerate our efforts to return the remaining seven (missing Hondurans) into custody."

The arrest was the latest twist in a case that prompted a nationwide furor over San Francisco's policy of protecting immigrant juveniles caught dealing drugs, first by flying them to their native countries and then by putting them in group homes elsewhere in the state.

Last month, San Francisco juvenile probation officials, unable to continue flying juvenile Honduran illegal immigrants home after federal officials objected, decided to place eight of the offenders in the group homes in Yucaipa (San Bernardino County).

All eight promptly disappeared. San Bernardino County sheriff's officials said the youths had walked away from unlocked homes run by a nonprofit, Silverlake Youth Services, which was billing San Francisco $7,000 a month to house each juvenile.

San Francisco stopped sending youths to group homes, and this week, Mayor Gavin Newsom said the city would shift course and turn over illegal immigrant juveniles found guilty of felonies to federal officials for possible deportation.

Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency, said federal authorities held a "productive" meeting Thursday with San Francisco officials to discuss how the city will hand over offenders.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 11JVB8.DTL

Immigrant escapee from Yucaipa home is found

05:54 PM PDT on Thursday, July 3, 2008
By IMRAN GHORI and JOHN ASBURY
The Press-Enterprise

Video: DA opposes practice of "dumping" juveniles in area homes: http://www.pe.com/video/index.html?nvid=260295

Read the proposed San Bernardino County resolution on San Francisco's placement of illegal immigrants in local group homes: http://www.pe.com/multimedia/pdf/2008/2 ... _youth.pdf

A convicted drug dealer who escaped from a Yucaipa group home is in the custody of San Francisco officials today, while four others are believed be in the Northern California city, a San Bernardino County probation official said.

The news comes as San Bernardino County officials continued to press San Francisco for a full accounting of how many illegal immigrant criminals were placed in group homes across the county.

Following reports that five youths from Honduras -- all convicted of narcotics offenses in San Francisco -- escaped from a group home in Yucaipa last month, San Bernardino County officials said at a news conference today that they plan to hold San Francisco responsible for their probation and law enforcement costs. Officials vowed to sue the city if necessary.

After the announcement, San Francisco officials told San Bernardino County officials that they had one of the youths in custody and believed the other four are in the city, said Michelle Scray, assistant chief probation officer for San Bernardino County.

"They are actively looking for them," she said.

San Bernardino County Supervisor Gary Ovitt announced that he will introduce a resolution at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting to demand that San Francisco stop sending probationers to the area and comply with state law that requires that local probation departments be notified of juveniles placed in that county.

"This county will not serve as San Francisco's dumping ground," Ovitt said.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's office said they would research the number of juveniles sent to San Bernardino County and any costs incurred to local law enforcement.

The mayor's office would not say how many juveniles had been sent to San Bernardino County or why the Yucaipa homes were selected. But a mayor's spokesman said no further juveniles would be sent to San Bernardino County.

"The Mayor has directed city officials, in no uncertain terms, to put a stop to this practice," mayoral spokesman Nathan Ballard said in a statement today.

San Francisco officials have offered the city as a safe haven for illegal immigrants to shield them from immigration laws and deportation. The city has turned over adult felons to federal authorities, but local courts were ordering convicted juveniles to be flown back to their native country. That practice was discontinued in May when it was discovered by the mayor's office.

In this case, instead of turning over the teenage boys to federal immigration authorities, they were placed in a group homes in Yucaipa.

The Douglas House, operated by Silverlake Youth Services, was licensed by the state Feb. 9, 2000. It is designated for children ages 13 to 17, with a capacity of six children, according to the California Department of Social Services.

Silverlake operates four homes in Yucaipa as well as homes in Mentone, Banning and Hesperia. A representative for the group home declined to comment.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stor ... f55db.html