Man says SLC police lied to get search warrant
Officers were searching for his nephew who is charged in killing of deputy.
By Sheena McFarland And Lindsay Whitehurst



Updated: 01/28/2010 07:14:33 PM MST


A Salt Lake City man has filed a complaint against Salt Lake City police, saying they lied in a search warrant before entering and teargassing his family's home while searching for a suspect in a police slaying.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank said his officers "absolutely did not" fabricate any of the evidence used to obtain the search warrant for the residence of Raymundo Miramontes. Officers were looking for his nephew, Roberto Roman, who has been charged with killing Millard County sheriff's Deputy Josie Greathouse Fox.

"I've personally reviewed the process that was undertaken and the reasoning behind the search warrant and statements made of it," Burbank said. "I'm very confident in our process."

In the warrant, police said that Miramontes told them his nephew was inside the house. But in the complaint, a copy of which was provided to The Salt Lake Tribune , Miramontes said he told police he had had "no contact with him, and was not aware of his whereabouts."

Miramontes wrote that he encountered the police in the yard of the house on Jan. 5, where officers "began to call me a liar and berate me" when he said he had not talked to Roman and did not know where he was.

The complaint also says that after five minute of questioning, a Utah Highway Patrol officer drove him to a command center set up under the viaduct on 1000 West and 200 South, and, as questioning continued, officers threatened to have him deported.

Burbank says his officers did not discuss legal status with Miramontes. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says they did talk with Miramontes about his legal status, but not until the man arrived at the Salt Lake City Police Department. The Utah Highway Patrol has not been able to track down whether their officers questioned Miramontes, said spokesman Cameron Roden.

ICE agents were involved in the investigation because Roman was a suspected undocumented immigrant, Burbank said, but his officers questioned no one in the Miramontes family about their legal status. He shared Thursday afternoon an interrogation video of Salvia Miramontes, who owns the home that was searched and teargassed, with some Latino community activists who were worried about the police agency's role in immigration questioning.

"The tape clearly shows that no Salt Lake City Police Department officer questioned her about legal status," said Tony Yapias, one of the advocates invited to the meeting. He said an ICE agent did question her, and she may have mistaken the agent for a police officer.

Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for ICE, said her agents did question Raymundo Miramontes and told him "there could be adverse effects if he obstructed justice or aided and abetted Roman," Kice said.

Miramontes has filed his complaint with the Utah FBI, which investigates complaints dealing with civil rights violations against local law enforcement agencies.

"I certainly welcome the FBI or any federal agency to review our process," Burbank said.

smcfarland@sltrib.com

lwhitehurst@sltrib.com

http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_14289617