TX: ICE puts hold on Pearland suspect (update)
ICE puts hold on Pearland suspect
469 comments
Immigration status for 19-year-old charged in classmate's death is unclear, authorities say
By MIKE GLENN and CINDY GEORGE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Nov. 19, 2010, 7:53PM
Immigration officials on Friday placed a hold on the teen charged with murder after, they say, he admitted fatally beating an 18-year-old Pearland student and dumping the body in a Fort Bend County field.
Hermilo Moralez, 19, was considered a person of interest early in the investigation into Josh Wilkerson’s disappearance shortly after classes on Tuesday.
Houston ICE spokesman Greg Palmore Friday afternoon declined to confirm Moralez’s legal status and to release details about why the agency placed the hold.
Officials at the Brazoria County Jail Friday afternoon could not confirm whether the hold means that Moralez is in the country illegally.
Lt. Onesimo Lopez, a Pearland Police Department spokesman said Moralez’s father is a permanent resident and that ICE officials are looking into the murder suspect’s legal status.
According to Brazoria County records, Moralez was transferred from the Pearland police confinement and booked into the county jail at 10:05 p.m. Thursday on charges of murder, failure to identify himself by giving false information to an officer and attempting to take a weapon from an officer. Bails were set on those charges, but the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold does not allow Moralez to be released on bail.
Moralez allegedly offered authorities several versions of what happened after Wilkerson gave him a ride home after school. A fight began, he allegedly told authorities, when Wilkerson made a pass at him — an account officials say they doubt.
"The suspect claims Josh began to come on to him in a sexual manner and that's how the fight started, but we don't believe that information is very credible," said spokesman Lopez.
Wilkerson's relatives could not be reached for comment on Thursday. At a news conference earlier, they thanked those who helped search for the teen's body, television stations reported.
Neighbors and friends said Moralez is a friend of Wilkerson's sister's boyfriend. Wilkerson and Moralez knew each other; the teen had given Moralez a lift in his truck before.
Wilkerson was a quiet teenager from a private family and was "solid in his faith," a neighbor said.
Brazoria County court records show Pearland police spotted Moralez on Tuesday walking along a ditch near the 500 block of Broadway, the area where Wilkerson's Toyota Tacoma pickup was later found.
Identifying himself only as Milo, Moralez told police officers that he had last seen Wilkerson at their school.
The officers noticed Moralez seemed nervous and shook during questioning. One of the officers saw what appeared to be a prominent, fresh scratch running along the left side of his face from his eyebrow to his neck. When asked about the scratch, Moralez told police that he didn't know how it got there, according to the court records.
Three charges filed
During later questioning, Moralez eventually gave investigators his full name but refused to provide his address. He was taken into custody and charged with failure to identify himself — the first of three criminal charges that would be filed against him within the next several hours.
His accounts of the events leading to Wilkerson's death varied, according to the court records.
At first, he said Wilkerson offered him a ride in the Toyota Tacoma after school Tuesday and a fight began. It ended when Moralez grabbed a rod-like piece of wood and began striking Wilkerson with it.
"Hermilo said that he had beaten Joshua pretty bad and (he was) bleeding from the nose and mouth. Hermilo described what happened to Joshua and (being) very violent and claiming that Joshua was messed up," the court document stated.
Moralez said he then climbed into the pickup and drove away, leaving Wilkerson behind, records show. He parked the truck next to a shopping center and threw Wilkerson's shoes and backpack into a trash bin, records show.
As the search for Wilkerson continued, Moralez then refused to tell the detectives where Wilkerson's body could be found, officials said.
"At one point, Hermilo stated that Joshua kind of 'melted' into the ground and is gone," according to the court records.
Moralez spoke with a woman that he lived with, then led investigators late Wednesday to an area near the dead end of FM 518, court records show.
When one investigator started to climb a fence at the site, Moralez tried to grab the officer's pistol from its holster, police said. He was restrained and returned to the jail in Pearland. A second charge was filed against him for attempting to take the weapon, authorities said.
Detectives could see that Wilkerson's body, with hands and feet both bound, had been partially burned, according to court records.
Moralez would later tell officials that the two were at his father's home when Wilkerson was killed, the court document said. Moralez said he beat Wilkerson on the back patio near a barbecue pit and threw the wooden rod into a field next to the house, according to the court records.
Blood found on patio
Police obtained a search warrant for the home and field next door. They found a large amount of blood on the patio and a wooden rod with blood on one end in the field.
Moralez is being held without bail on the murder charge.
In May, Moralez was arrested by a Brazoria County Sheriff's deputy and charged with misdemeanor harassment. In that case, he was listed as a citizen of Belize, a district court clerk said on Thursday.
http://oneoldvet.com/
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 01363.html
Suspect in Pearland teenager's death could be illegal immigr
Suspect in Pearland teenager's death could be illegal immigrant
by Tiffany Craig / 11 News
kvue.com
Posted on November 20, 2010 at 9:27 AM
PEARLAND, Texas —A Pearland teenager who admitted to beating a fellow student to death went to see a movie after the act, his best friend and roommate Geoffrey Weis said Friday.
Pearland police said Hermilo Moralez killed Josh Wilkerson Tuesday. Weis said that same day they went to see the 3D cartoon "Megamind," and didn’t see anything different about his friend.
"I went to a movie afterwards with him and he didn’t act distraught or scared or anything," said Weis. "You would never think your best friend would kill somebody until he actually does."
The victim, 18-year-old high school student, Josh Wilkerson, was first reported missing on Tuesday. His body was eventually found beaten, bound, burned and left in the woods.
Police showed up at Weis’ front door after Wilkerson’s truck was found abandoned in a parking lot near Weis’ house.
"They seemed very strict, very hardcore with me," said Weis."They were like, ’do you know Milo?’"
Weis claims Moralez, who he calls Milo, told him the story, but it was Weis’ mother who got Moralez to confess to police.
Moralez faces a list of charges, from murder to tampering with evidence.
Meanwhile, ICE officials on Friday placed a hold on Moralez, who they claim is in the country illegally.
"We typically take that to mean that the detainer is in the country illegally," said Lt. Onesimo Lopez of the Pearland Police Department.
Weis said Moralez’s family moved to Pearland from Belize. He said Moralez moved in with him after several domestic incidents.
"He had some arguments at his house with his parents and they just didn’t want him to live there anymore," said Weis.
Weis said his best friend’s parents had green cards at one point in time. According to police, Moralez’s father moved back to Belize. His mother’s whereabouts is unknown.
Moralez was being held in jail Friday without bond. He is also awaiting trial on an unrelated harassment charge.
Wilkerson’s funeral arrangements were announced Friday afternoon.
A visitation is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 21 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Crowder Funeral Home in Pearland.
The funeral service will take place Monday, Nov. 22 at 11 a.m. at Sagemont Church.
http://www.kvue.com/news/state/109459309.html
Jury selection begins in Pearland teen’s slaying
By Erin Mulvaney | January 16, 2013
chron.com
The jury that will decide the fate of the 21-year-old man accused of killing a Pearland teen in 2010 will be selected Wednesday in a Brazoria County court.
Hermilo Moralez was charged with murder in the beating death of his missing classmate. The dumped, partially burned remains of 18-year-old Josh Wilkerson were discovered in a Fort Bend County field with bound hands and feet.
In November 2011, it was determined that Moralez was not competent to stand trial, and he was transferred to a state mental hospital. At a hearing last year, jurors heard from two psychiatrists who testified that Moralez was well enough to stand trial.
Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne is trying the case against Moralez. She would not comment on the upcoming trial.
The week before Thanksgiving 2010, Wilkerson disappeared after leaving Pearland ISD’s Pace Center campus the week. His parents notified police when they found his truck in a strip mall parking lot later that evening. After an extensive search by authorities and volunteers, the teen’s body was found the next day across the county line.
Authorities said Moralez, then 19, admitted beating Wilkerson to death with a wooden rod. At the time of his arrest, the Belize citizen did not have legal status in this country, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He also faces charges of tampering with physical evidence and trying to take a weapon from a police officer.
Moralez’s attorney Crespin Linton said the trial may last several weeks, and he hopes because of media coverage there are no preconceived notions about his client’s guilt or innocence.
“It’s going to be a lengthy trial, and we want to make sure all the evidence is heard before a judgment is made,” Linton said. “People can be quick to judge.”
Jury selection begins in Pearland teen
21-year-old immigrant convicted in beating death of former Pearland classmate
By Carol Christian | January 29, 2013 | Updated: January 29, 2013 4:27pm
68 comments
http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/17/32/37.../0/385x218.jpg
A 21-year-old man has been found guilty in the 2010 slaying of a Pearland teen.
A Brazoria County jury on Monday convicted Hermilo Moralez, who was charged with murder in the beating death of his missing classmate, Josh Wilkerson. The trial began after jury selection Jan. 16 in the 300th State District Court.
The punishment, or sentencing, phase of Moralez' trial started Monday afternoon, officials with the Brazoria County District Attorney's Office said.
Wilkerson's partially burned remains were discovered in a Fort Bend County field, where his body had been dumped with his hands and feet bound.
The week before Thanksgiving 2010, Wilkerson disappeared after leaving the campus of PACE Center, Pearland school district's alternative high school.
His parents notified police later that evening when they found his truck in a strip mall parking lot. After an extensive search by authorities and volunteers, the teen's body was found the next day across the county line.
In November 2011, Moralez, a Belize national, was transferred to a state mental hospital after it was determined that he was not competent to stand trial.
At a hearing last year, jurors heard from two psychiatrists who testified that Moralez was well enough to go through the judicial proceeding.
Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne tried the case against Moralez.
Authorities said Moralez, then 19, admitted beating Wilkerson to death with a wooden rod. At the time of his arrest, he did not have legal status in this country, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
21-year-old immigrant convicted in beating death of former Pearland classmate - Houston Chronicle
