Thread: News on Trial of "Our" Serial Rapist

Prosecutors may team up in rapes case
DNA tests linked man to series of sex assaults in Forsyth and Guilford
By Titan Barksdale
JOURNAL REPORTER
Thursday, December 15, 2005


Prosecutors in Forsyth and Guilford counties could work together in prosecuting a man who has been charged with several counts of rape in the Triad, District Attorney Tom Keith of Forsyth County said yesterday.

Prosecutors may present details of the crimes committed in the counties at both trials, Keith said.

Gilberto Cruz Hernandez, 24, has been arrested on those charges and on a string of other sexual assaults in Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point. Hernandez is being held in the Forsyth County Jail with his bond set at $3 million.

Rules of evidence allow for prosecutors to present details of charg-es against a defendant, Keith said. Whether evidence of crimes is admissible depends on whether the crimes "are sufficiently similar and not so remote in time that they are more probative than prejudicial," according to an N.C. Supreme Court ruling.

"If you did a similar crime with a similar modus operandi in Wake, when I tried the case here, I can also bring in those similar attributes from Wake County so a jury would know," Keith said. "If it's really prejudicial to the defendant, it won't be admitted. It's not fair in some circumstance to let prior acts of misconduct in, so there's a balancing test that the courts must do."

Winston-Salem police charged Hernandez in Winston-Salem on Oct. 28 after DNA evidence tested at the state's crime labs linked him to a series of rapes that happened in February in Winston-Salem, a police statement said.

A few days later, he was charged in connection with three sexual-assault cases that occurred in Greensboro in January and February of this year and in May 2004.

A woman then told police in November that a masked man raped her at the Commercial Plaza Apartments in Winston-Salem, which was the scene of a sexual assault in February in which police charged Hernandez.

A conviction of first-degree rape carries a minimum sentence of between 16 years to 20 years in prison, Keith said. In Forsyth, plea offers are not generally offered in cases similar to Hernandez's.

Paul James, an assistant public defender who represents Hernandez, said that Hernandez maintains his innocence. James said he is likely to work with the attorney who represents Hernandez in Guilford.

"The only plea entry Mr. Hernandez has made is not guilty," James said. "We have not seen anything from the state about alleged DNA evidence. We have not seen anything from that state about a match, and eventually they'll have to put up or shut up."

Hernandez is to appear in Guilford Superior Court on Jan. 11 and in Forsyth Superior Court on Feb. 24.

• Titan Barksdale can be reached at 727-7369 or at tbarksdale@wsjournal.com

No mention of his $44000 illegal job or his $123,000 illegal FHA loan?

NOPE. And, I just sent an email to the writer of this article and sent copies of both articles that Taft Wireback wrote and raised HELL because the Winston-Salem Journal is just NOT COVERING THIS CASE. I'll copy and paste what I said to the IDIOT.

Below you will find links to two articles that have appeared in the Greensboro News and Record in the last week about this serial rapist and I am EXTREMELY disappointed that the Journal has not done some good, old-timey journalistic DIGGING.

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... EWSREC0201


Below is the second article which was published on December 13th. I was not able to get the link without paying for it:

Taxpayers foot bill for immigrant defense
Article published Dec 14, 2005

WINSTON-SALEM -- Despite being a homeowner with a job that apparently paid $44,000 per year, an illegal immigrant from Mexico is relying on area taxpayers to pay for his legal defense against charges stemming from a series of sexual assaults in Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem.

Gilberto Cruz Hernandez, 24, of Winston-Salem, was found indigent in court proceedings shortly after his Oct. 28 arrest in the first of eight assaults he was charged with between May 2004 and Feb. 22.

He did not reveal in his application for legal representation from the Forsyth County Public Defender's Office that he is a homeowner, instead checking a box that said he is a renter paying $930 per month in rent.

In fact, he and another person, apparently his wife, bought a home last year in Winston-Salem's North Oaks neighborhood with a $122,970 loan backed by the federal government.

His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Paul James, of Forsyth County, said it was an understandable mistake that shouldn't change Hernandez's eligibility for public aid. To be eligible, an applicant must prove he doesn't have enough money or assets to hire a lawyer at his own expense.

People who have bought a home sometimes think of themselves as still being renters because they don't own the home outright and are still making monthly payments, James said in a recent interview.

"They don't think of it as, 'I own it,' " James said. "Somebody just probably said to him, 'How much do you pay for your housing?' "

If Hernandez is found guilty of the assaults, a judge could require him to reimburse taxpayers as for some or all the cost of publicly provided legal representation. The cost could be included in any sentence or entered as a judgment against him in civil court.

James said last week that the Guilford County Public Defender's Office also might be named to represent Hernandez on charges stemming from three assaults in Greensboro and one in High Point.

Winston-Salem police initially arrested Hernandez in connection with four assaults that took place in that city last February. Greensboro and High Point added the additional charges within a week, allegations based on DNA evidence that police say implicated Hernandez.

Shortly after his arrest, federal authorities revealed that Hernandez was an illegal immigrant who had been deported in 1997 and 2002 by immigration and border-patrol officers. They said they will deport him again once he is either acquitted of the assault charges or found guilty and serves any prison time.

In his application to be declared indigent Oct. 31, Hernandez listed one source of income, a job at North State Flexibles in Greensboro that he said paid $850 weekly, or $3,400 per month.

He said that he had no other assets and $3,848 per month in monthly expenses, including $1,000 in food bills.

James said Hernandez's home ownership should not be considered a significant asset because he almost certainly has little equity, or true ownership, of a house he only bought last year. Similarly, he has been in jail, not working, since his arrest six weeks ago, so that source of income is cut off. North State Flexibles said after Hernandez's arrest that he got his job there under false pretense, possibly using fake or fraudulently obtained documents.

Taxpayers also might have to foot the bill, at least initially, for an interpreter as the cases move toward trial. Federal court officials in Greensboro estimated earlier this year that it cost $30 to $35 an hour for interpreters to help illegal immigrants arrested for document fraud and similar crimes.

An official at North State Flexibles, a printing company, said in a recent interview that Hernandez is fluent in English and faced no language barrier in his job there as a press operator.

But James said that Hernandez appears not to speak English very well and it's "more comfortable for him to converse in Spanish."

Contact Taft Wireback at 373-7100 or twireback@news-record.com

This man has done a magnificent job of exposing this MONSTER and I am VERY disappointed that the Journal has been WAY BEHIND the CURVE on this one since the man LIVES in Winston.

The Greensboro News and Record would not allow me access to the article from the 13th without PAYING $2.95 and the link that Brian posted on the article wouldn't take me to it either so I had to copy that whole article but I gave the HELL for not doing their job!

I posted this on the older thread but am posting it here too! For some reason, I can't copy and paste the letter from Microsoft Works. I've tried everything I can think of so I am going to type it here:

Honorable Thomas Keith, DA
District Attorneys' Office
PO Box 20083
Winston-Salem, NC 27120

Dear Mr. Keith:

I am writing to you in reference to the case of Gilberto Cruz Hernandez, the man accused of MULTIPLE CRIMES including at least 8 rapes. I have been following this story closely because I am very upset about the number of crimes committed by ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS and this man had already been deported TWICE before he committed these HEINOUS crimes.

Even though the Winston-Salem Journal has dropped the ball in investigating this man, Taft Wireback, a reporter for the Greensboro News and Record, has done a terrific job digging up information on this man and has written two excellent articles for the News and Record in the past week. Here are some of the things he has uncovered:
1. This man was working in the Triad area earning $44,000 a YEAR.
2. This man had applied for and received an FHA backed mortgage on a
brand new home in Winston-Salem to the tune of almost $123,000.

In the article that Mr. Wireback had in the December 13th issue of the News and Record, he had interviewed Mr. Paul James, the PUBLIC DEFENDER representing Mr. Hernandez. Mr. James is being paid with OUR taxpayer dollars. BUT, to make matters even worse, Mr. James told Mr. Wireback that this man would also need an interpreter at a cost of $30-$35 an HOUR. AND, Mr. Hernandez' employer stated that Mr. Hernandez was FLUENT in English. When Mr. Wireback questioned Mr. James about the need for an interpreter, Mr. James stated that "Mr. Hernandez would be more COMFORTABLE with a Spanish interpreter".

I am, as you can probably tell, INCENSED that as a taxpayer in the state of North Carolina, I am paying for an ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT to be defended in court AND for an interpretor when the man speaks perfectly good English. I am also infuriated that ANYONE making $44,000 a year can be provided with a public defender at MY EXPENSE.

What ever happened to the "Clean Hands Rule"? Can you explain to me how a person can be provided all of these free services when they are certainly not going to court with CLEAN HANDS? Not only has he broken NUMEROUS laws that he is being charged with and defended against, he broke the law by coming into our country illegally--not ONCE but THREE times that we KNOW of. Why are the taxpayers of this state having to pay for a defense for an ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT?

I would appreciate any explanation you can put forth.

Sincerely,

http://www.news-record.com

By Taft Wireback
Staff Writer

Thursday, December 15, 2005
Sex case prompts push to halt loans


NEWS & RECORD EXCLUSIVE
Guilford County's public defender says his office stands ready to assist an illegal immigrant arrested in eight sexual assaults in Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem.

But the office is seldom tapped to defend people not legally in this country, said Wally Harrelson, Guilford's public defender.

"This would be the exception rather than the rule," he said of Gilberto Cruz Hernandez's situation.

Hernandez, 24, faces trial in the series of assaults that also involves burglary and kidnapping, four cases each in Guilford and Forsyth counties. After his arrest, federal authorities said he is a twice-deported illegal immigrant.

In Winston-Salem, Hernandez is being represented by the Forsyth County public defender on the assaults there. But he has yet to have an initial hearing in Guilford for legal counsel to be appointed on the other charges.

Hernandez qualified for representation as an indigent even though he owns a home in Winston-Salem, bought with a $123,000 loan backed by the federal government.

In a separate action this week, the loan sparked a move in Washington to stop such loans to illegal immigrants.

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-Banner Elk, wants to ban federal agencies from giving loans or credit to illegal immigrants, a proposal that could see action today on the floor of the House.

"What has happened with Mr. Hernandez shows how easy it is for illegal aliens to take many of the privileges of being an American citizen even when authorities have previously determined they are here illegally," Foxx said.

Harrelson, the Guilford public defender, said he and his counterpart in Forsyth, Pete Clary, discussed Hernandez's case briefly last month.

Hernandez initially was arrested in Forsyth after DNA allegedly linked him to the assaults.

In Guilford, Harrelson estimates that illegal immigrants are less than "one-half of 1 percent" of his office's workload.

But generally, across the state, there's evidence that illegal immigrants are making increasing demands on tax-funded public defenders.

Although state government doesn't track public-defender aid to illegal immigrants, it is paying increasing amounts for the interpreters often needed by illegal immigrants, said Tye Hunter, director of the state Office of Indigent Services.

The tab went from almost zero 10 years ago to about $2 million per year now, Hunter said.

He noted there isn't a direct link between the fees and illegal immigrants because some legally present defendants need translators' help, too.

By law, governments must provide legal aid at public expense to indigent, illegal immigrants.

That's because the U.S. Constitution assures all "persons" -- not just "citizens" -- equal treatment and due process, said Erwin Chemerinsky, a Duke University law professor.

"The U.S. Supreme Court has said that when the Constitution speaks of 'persons,' it protects even a person here illegally," Chemerinksy said

Contact Taft Wireback at 373-7100 or twireback@news-record.com

By law, governments must provide legal aid at public expense to indigent, illegal immigrants.

That's because the U.S. Constitution assures all "persons" -- not just "citizens" -- equal treatment and due process, said Erwin Chemerinsky, a Duke University law professor.

"The U.S. Supreme Court has said that when the Constitution speaks of 'persons,' it protects even a person here illegally," Chemerinksy said

I can already see what our next cause needs to be. THIS MUST CHANGE. Congress can change those laws that provide OUR money to defend ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. They can throw that in with the Anchor Baby law.

WE, the CITIZENS of the United State of AMERICA, are supporting the WORLD and I, for one, am SICK TO DEATH OF IT. If I get a speeding ticket, I have to PAY FOR MY OWN LAWYER. It doesn't matter that I have a struggle of my own but I am penalized because I have a few assets. It is WRONG that we are forced to pay for someone who comes to our country illegally to begin with and then goes on crime sprees like Hernandez. Not only are the POOR VICTIMS paying a huge price, the taxpayers are stuck too.

I posted my letter to the Forsyth County District Attorney on one of the other threads PROTESTING the fact that we are providing this BEAST with a public defender AND an INTERPRETER.

http://www.news-record.com

December 15, 2005
Illegal alien profits from flawed system

Mexican immigrant Gilberto Cruz Hernandez found the American Dream right here in the Triad. After illegally entering the country, the 24-year-old easily became one of us. There was the $850-a-week job at a local printing company. And he obtained a federally financed loan on a $123,000 house in the suburbs without a glitch. The envy of many native Americans.

Had he not run afoul of the law, Hernandez's deception may never have surfaced. His arrest and what led up to it show just how deftly illegal immigrants can masquerade as U.S. citizens with little risk of detection.

Hernandez has traded suburbia for a jail cell in Forsyth County. Police believe he led a double life as a cat burglar and committed sexual assaults while on the prowl. If convicted, he faces a long prison stay.

It wasn't his first run-in with authorities. In the half-dozen years he's been here, police cited him 11 times for traffic violations -- some serious. High Point police caught him on a car lot late at night, but he slipped away when they failed to do background checks.

His charade points up the glaring deficiencies in the nation's immigration laws. Before winding up here, Hernandez was caught twice and deported to Mexico. Like many compatriots, however, he kept crossing the porous border until he hit pay dirt.

Local authorities are ill-equipped to deal with a problem national in scope. Illegal immigrants like Hernandez posing as legal residents can easily mislead police and employers. A High Point officer told the News & Record that a growing Hispanic population means "if you did that (thoroughly checked identification) you'd spend the entire day trying to figure out if someone is here illegally.''

The printing firm that hired Hernandez says his documentation checked out. Yet verification loopholes and a proliferation of easily obtained fraudulent documents hobble the process. Applicants rely on a profitable black market that turns out everything from green cards to Social Security numbers. Despite his traffic arrests, the state issued him a driver's license.

A few cities are tackling immigration's effects. A Charlotte committee recently held its first meeting. The dialogue was positive, although finding solutions is an uphill battle. Undermanned federal agents admitted immigration violations are a low priority.

That puts the ball squarely in the federal government's court. House members propose tighter border security, beefed-up workplace ID checks and swifter deportation. President Bush is withholding support unless a guest worker program is included.

More than tough talk is needed. First, laws already on the books should be enforced rather than overlooked. Those who flout and break them shouldn't be rewarded. The dream has turned into a nightmare, not only for Hernandez but for those around him.

Well, chalk up one more for the Greensboro News and Record. I'm getting ready to forward this one to the Winston-Salem Journal too. They are going to wish they had never HEARD of ME!!

I just got a nice response from Taft Wireback, the reporter who has been instrumental in exposing this MONSTER. I had emailed him a couple of times to thank him and he wrote back:

Hi, thanks for your e-mails. This is a really interesting case. I still don't understand how a kid his age gets a job paying $850 a week. When I was his age (back in the early ''70s, but yet and still...) I earned about $135 a week with a college degree and no immigration issues. The whole thing doesn't make any sense. Thanks again for writing -- Taft