Posted Friday, August 3, 2018 7:03 pm
By Mike Donoghue, Reformer correspondent

BURLINGTON — An illegal immigrant, who was arrested in Rockingham on a charge of driving while intoxicated, has been previously deported three times from the United States for being in the country unlawfully, federal court records show.

The Department of Homeland Security arrested Arturo Pascual-Juan, 35, of Springfield, Mass., again this week after he appeared in Vermont Superior Court in Brattleboro to face the DUI charge.

A state judge released Pascual, a Guatemalan native, on the DUI charge Tuesday on the promise he would return to court for his hearings. Homeland Security agents were waiting and intercepted Pascual later as he approached his car in a parking lot, court records show.

A federal judge in Burlington on late Thursday afternoon ordered Pascual jailed without bail as a risk of flight. Judge Christina Reiss ruled there were no known combination of conditions that would assure Pascal's appearance at future court hearings as required.

Reiss noted in her written detention order that Pascual lacked a stable residence, he was in the country illegally, had failed to appear for court in the past and has no ties to the community or family in Vermont.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew C. Gilman, in his detention motion, maintained there were no conditions that "will reasonably assure the defendant's appearance as required." Gilman said Pascual has an "unwavering intent to remain in this country in violation of law" and was "a sufficient risk of flight such that he should be detained."

Deportation Officer Brady Goff of Homeland Security outlined the following in a court affidavit:

Pascual was initially caught at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City July 21, 2003 and by Dec. 22, 2003 he had applied for asylum. Pascual failed to appear for an immigration hearing in Boston Jan. 15, 2004 to have his asylum application determined. The judge denied the request and issued an Immigration removal order.

Officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended Pascual in Holyoke, Mass., on Feb. 8, 2007. He was ordered removed to Guatemala from El Paso, Texas on March 23, 2007.

ICE Officers arrested Pascual again in Springfield, Mass. on Jan. 5, 2008. The immigration removal order issued in 2004 was reinstated and Pascual was deported to Guatemala again Feb. 7, 2008. Pascual was warned there was a 10-year ban on re-entering the United States.

The U.S. Border Patrol arrested him in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 13, 2011, officials said. The previous removal order was reinstated again and Pascual was deported a third time to Guatemala about three days later. He was given a "Warning to Alien Removed" order that said he could not return for at least 20 years, Goff said toward the end of his 4-page affidavit.

Windham County State's Attorney Tracy Shriver said Friday she was unaware of Pascual's immigration background when told on Friday by the Brattleboro Reformer. She said ICE agents told her the day of the arraignment they were at court for the Pascual hearing, but gave no indication the reason.

She said the arraignment was postponed until the afternoon because the court had to obtain a translator and one of her deputies handled the case.

Vermont State Trooper Travis Valcourt, the arresting officer, also was surprised to hear about Pascual's past problems with Immigration laws.

"He was never asked his citizenship status," the veteran trooper told the Reformer on Friday.

Vacourt said about 4 a.m. July 4 police received a 911 call about an erratic operator driving northbound on I-91 in Putney. The caller reported the SUV was drifting between the passing lane to the breakdown lane and was traveling slow. Bellows Falls Police Sgt. David Bemis encountered the suspect vehicle, which initially did not stop, but eventually pulled over near Exit 6 in Rockingham, Valcourt reported.

Troopers, who were wrapping up a crash investigation in Vernon, responded to the scene and observed signs of impairment on the operator, who was later identified as Pascual, police said. Pascual attempted sobriety tests along the roadside and was subsequently arrested for a DUI charge, Valcourt said.

The preliminary roadside breath test showed .184 percent alcohol about an hour after the stop and .158 at 6:52 a.m., court records show.

Valcourt said he was required to use a language translator app on his cell phone to converse with the operator.

Pascual identified himself with a Guatemala Consular ID Card, and later admitted he had no driver's license, Valcourt wrote in court papers.

Troopers took Pascual to the State Police barracks in Westminster where he was processed for DUI using a translator through a speaker phone, Valcourt said. Pascual was later released with citation ordering him to appear Tuesday in criminal court in Brattleboro.

https://www.reformer.com/stories/ali...-jailed,546701