Thread: OK:Teen Suspect Suspected Illegal Alien

Feds eye immigration status of teen suspect

Associated Press - November 5, 2008 11:05 AM ET

TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Tulsa officials say a 16-year-old Tulsa boy arrested this week in the beating death of another teenager after a soccer match is being held for federal immigration agents.

Edgar Saucedo was arrested Monday afternoon at Memorial High School on a second-degree murder complaint in the death of 16-year-old Eduardo Ledesma.

Ledesma died Sunday from severe head injuries after being punched several times the day before following a church-league soccer match.

Records show Saucedo was born in Juarez, Mexico, and now lives in east Tulsa.

Prosecutors say Saucedo will be sentenced to prison if convicted and will be released to federal authorities after serving his time.

http://www.kfsm.com/Global/story.asp?S=9297514

Ledesma died Sunday from severe head injuries after being punched several times the day before following a church-league soccer match.

Yep, those good ole family values sought after by churches.

Relative: Teenager is innocent
SUSPECT
Edgar Saucedo: His sister-in-law says others were involved in the attack that led to Eduardo "Eddie" Ledesma's death.



By DAVID SCHULTE World Staff Writer
11/6/2008
Last Modified: 11/6/2008 3:06 AM

A relative of a teenager who is accused of beating to death another boy said Wednesday that her brother-in-law is innocent.

Darlene Perez, speaking on behalf of the family of Edgar Saucedo, 16, maintains that Saucedo did not kill Eduardo "Eddie" Ledesma and that other people were involved.

Saucedo was arrested Monday on a second-degree murder charge.

"There are friends of Edgar's who saw it, but they are afraid to talk because they might be threatened," Perez said. "We want justice, and we want them to treat him as a teenager and not as an adult because I think other people are involved."

Saucedo has told her that a fight did occur between him and Ledesma on Saturday after a church-league soccer match at 3808 S. 136th East Ave. but that other people became involved, punching and kicking the two teenagers, she said.

On Tuesday, Luis Calvillo, Ledesma's coach, said he saw Saucedo attack Ledesma from behind and land punches to the back of his head with an object that looked like brass knuckles.

Calvillo said Wednesday that only one person attacked Ledesma, who was a student at Bixby High School. He said he was certain that the attacker was Saucedo.

Perez believes that
Calvillo is mistaken and that other people know what really happened but are afraid to talk to police because of threats from others.

She said she has no idea why Calvillo would say that her brother-in-law acted alone in attacking Ledesma with an apparent weapon.

"Eddie does not have brass knuckles or any weapons," she said. "He's not the type of guy who looks for trouble."

She said her brother-in-law has been accused of being a gang member but has never been involved in gang activity and has never been in serious trouble before.

He was on suspension from Memorial High School, but it was because of excessive tardiness, she said.

Saucedo was booked into the Tulsa Jail on Monday in connection with Ledesma's death. He is also being held for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for the federal agency in Dallas, said Wednesday that Saucedo is an illegal immigrant and will be deported when he is no longer in state custody.

If Saucedo is sentenced to prison for the homicide, once he serves his time, he will be released to immigration authorities for deportation, local officials said.

Records obtained by the Tulsa World show that Saucedo was born April 29, 1992, in Juarez, Mexico, and now lives in the 5000 block of South 73rd East Avenue.

Authorities have said that his mother is Garciela Saucedo, but it is not known whether she is in the country legally.

Perez acknowledged that Edgar Saucedo is an illegal immigrant and added that he has been living in Tulsa for 10 years. She says his immigration status should have no bearing on the case.

"He is an illegal, but he also has his rights," she said.

A funeral Mass for Ledesma will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Francis Xavier Church under the direction of Bixby Funeral Service.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/artic...3_Arelat889125