WA Trial begins for illegal immigrant accused of killing eld
Trial begins for illegal immigrant accused of killing elderly woman
By: Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
05/12/09 8:17 PM EDT
The testimonies, like that of 94-year-old Margaret Arnold, will pull at the jury’s heartstrings.
But the jury shouldn’t be swayed by anything but the evidence against the illegal immigrant accused of killing a 63-year-old widowed woman and attacking three others, the immigrant’s attorney said Tuesday.
And that evidence, Alan Drew said in his opening argument, is lacking.
“We have to have sympathy and emotion for the women,â€
Salvadoran faces witnesses, DNA evidence in trial for allege
Salvadoran faces witnesses, DNA evidence in trial for alleged home invasions, murder
By: Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
05/10/09 9:01 PM EDT
Dozens of witnesses and DNA evidence will comprise the backbone of prosecutors’ case against an illegal immigrant from El Salvador accused of murdering a 63-year-old Bethesda woman and hog-tying three other widows before burglarizing their homes.
Jury selection begins Monday for the trial of 34-year-old Jose Garcia-Perlera. His arrest in October was the first in a string of a high-profile crimes allegedly committed in Montgomery County by illegal immigrants.
Those crimes, which included the shooting death of a 14-year-old boy on a county bus, caused County Executive Ike Leggett to change the county’s illegal-immigrant policy. As of January, defendants accused of certain violent crimes will have their immigration status checked.
According to court documents, Garcia-Perlera moved to the Washington area in 2006. At first he worked for a Silver Spring construction company and then started his own electrician business.
But on Sept. 17, 2007, prosecutors say Garcia-Perlera became a violent criminal, breaking through the glass basement window of 92-year-old Margaret Arnold’s Bethesda home. He killed her lights through the circuit board and when she came downstairs to check, Garcia-Perlera hog-tied her and gagged her with her own socks, court documents said. He then burglarized the house.
Prosecutors say he then committed similar attacks two more times: On Nov. 27, 2007, he tied up 77-year-old Betty Tubbs in Chevy Chase, and on Feb. 27, 2008, he attacked 78-year-old Ann Wolfe in Potomac. Prosecutors say he left DNA evidence behind in both cases.
Then on Sept. 2, police said Garcia-Perlera went from dangerous to deadly, when he hog-tied then beat to death 63-year-old Mary Havenstein. She was found dead by her niece two days later.
State’s Attorney John McCarthy is prosecuting the case himself. He and Garcia-Perlera’s attorneys are expected to give opening arguments Tuesday.
McCarthy has listed dozens of witnesses, including police officers, medical examiners and the victims. Alan Drew, one of Garcia-Perlera’s attorneys, said they planned to call McCarthy’s witnesses as their own.
So far, the defense has won at least one part of the battle, Drew said: A statement made by Garcia-Perlera to detectives will not be entered as evidence unless he testifies. Drew declined to comment on any plans for the defendant to take the stand.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local ... 79837.html
The New America will be just like Mexico City.
This criminal is an example of the scum illegals that our government is protecting and is planning on giving Amnesty.
God bless and help the families of the innocent victims of the illegals. I hope their family also sues the gov't as complicit in the crime. if the laws were enforced the crimes would not have been committed.
