Deportation detainee indicted in assault on feds
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July 8, 2009 - 9:30 PM
By EMMA PEREZ-TREVINO

A man, who has claimed in court that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unlawfully detained him, has been indicted on two felony charges of assaulting federal officers, federal court records show.

A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Rama Carty Tuesday charging him with assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating or interfering with Lt. Eric Saldivar and detention officer Hector Buentello Jr. in the performance of their official duties, the court record shows.

The indictment alleges that the assaults occurred June 3.

ICE spokeswoman Nina Pruneda believed Wednesday that Carty was scheduled to be transferred from the Port Isabel Detention Center near Los Fresnos to Louisiana sometime in June, for subsequent deportation to Haiti.

Pruneda did not immediately know Carty's whereabouts.

She was unable to comment on the indictment "because the matter is before the U.S. Attorney's Office. We are not in the position to provide any comment."

A spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney's Office was not immediately available for comment.

The day prior to Carty's alleged assault on federal officers, representatives from Amnesty International visited him at the detention center, according to a statement that the Southwest Workers' Union in Edinburg issued June 4.

The Southwest Workers' Union statement noted that Carty had requested on June 3 to meet with Amnesty International for a second time but "instead, he was beaten and dragged away as fellow prisoners witnessed this abuse."

Following Carty's indictment, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald G. Morgan ordered that a warrant be issued for Carty's arrest and that he be held without bond.

Upon conviction, Carty, 38, faces eight years in jail for each of the counts, but 20 years on each count if a deadly or dangerous weapon was used or if he inflicted bodily injury. He also faces a $250,000 fine on each of the counts, the court record shows.

Carty, since earlier this year, had been seeking his immediate release from ICE's custody in civil proceedings in federal court.

He also sought his transfer from the Port Isabel Detention Center to Massachusetts, arguing that remote locations prevented him from finding pro bono counsel with the competence and zeal expected of counsel in Massachusetts. He further asserted that "in the great state of Texas, there are no immigration attorneys that (he) would choose for representation," the court record reflects.

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