Some detained Swift workers will be offered plea bargains

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Some of the former Swift & Co. workers who were arrested in an immigration raid in Greeley last month could reach plea bargains this week that could potentially end their criminal cases in Weld, District Attorney Ken Buck said.

Many of the workers are charged with identity theft, a class 4 felony, or criminal impersonation, a class 5 felony. If the workers agree to waive deportation proceedings and plead guilty to their charges, prosecutors might suspend their sentences, Buck said.

"One of the provisions that is mandatory in all these plea agreements is that the defendants waive deportation and agree not to come back into the country," Buck said.

A worker could plead guilty and accept the maximum sentence, knowing if he or she leaves the country and does not come back, he or she would not have to serve any jail or prison time.

But the sentence is suspended. The maximum sentence for a class 4 felony is six years in prison, so if the worker accepts the deal and does not come back to the United States for six years, he or she will not go to prison.

If the worker waits a year, comes back and is caught, he or she will have to serve the rest of the sentence, so five years.

Even if the worker waits until the six years are over, he or she can't come back, because it's a federal crime to return to the United States after being deported because of criminal activity. Then, the worker could be facing an eight to 10-year sentence in federal prison, Buck said.

The plea bargains offered to the defendants will depend on what they're charged with -- ID theft or criminal impersonation. "I think we are prosecuting to the full extent of the law, we're offering these folks felonies," Buck said.

None of the pleas, however, include restitution to victims, because the district attorney's office cannot require illegal immigrants to get jobs in the United States and pay compensation.

Of course, if the workers don't want to accept the deals, they can take their cases to trial.

None of the workers has been able to post bond, because Immigration and Customs Enforcement has no-bond holds on them in the Weld County Jail.

It is not unusual for prosecutors to offer plea bargains.

"Approximately 95 percent of our cases are resolved in plea agreements," Buck said.