AMERICANS KILLED BY DRUNK DRIVING ILLEGAL ALIENS
ILLEGAL ALIEN DRUNK DRIVER KILLS UNITED STATES MARINE
http://www.nbc4.com/news/10429266/detail.html#
New issue in fatal crash
Man, 24, accused in deaths apparently in the U.S. illegally
By Melissa Harris
sun reporter
Originally published November 30, 2006
The landscaper charged with vehicular homicide and drunken driving in a crash Thanksgiving night that killed a Marine on leave and his date is apparently in the country illegally and had received a Maryland driver's license by first obtaining one from North Carolina - a state whose loose requirements once made it a favorite for undocumented aliens seeking identification cards.
It is unclear how Eduardo Raul Morales-Soriano, 25, a Mexican citizen living in Laurel, came to the United States or whether the North Carolina license was his first, but anti-immigration activists said yesterday said that until North Carolina changed its licensing laws in August, the state was a magnet for immigration fraud.
From there, the jump to Maryland apparently would not have been difficult. Morales-Soriano could have submitted the North Carolina license along with a variety of other sources of documentation with his signature, date of birth or address, according to state regulations. A 2003 Maryland attorney general's opinion concluded that proof of legal U.S. residency was not a requirement for a driver's license.
James Dinkins, acting special agent in charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office in Baltimore, said yesterday that there was no record of Morales-Soriano entering the country legally. Immigration officials said they planned to confirm his identity through fingerprints.
At the conclusion of Howard County's criminal case, immigration officials will initiate proceedings to remove Morales-Soriano from the country, Dinkins said.
The Thanksgiving accident, in which Howard County police allege Morales-Soriano's blood-alcohol level was four times the legal limit, resulted in the death of Marine Cpl. Brian Mathews, 21, of Columbia and Jennifer Bower, 24, of Montgomery Village, which is north of Gaithersburg.
The couple were on their second date when a Nissan Sentra driven by Morales-Soriano slammed into Bower's Toyota Corolla, which was stopped at a red light on Route 175 at Route 108.
Morales-Soriano has been charged with two counts of homicide by motor vehicle, two counts of manslaughter while intoxicated and driving while under the influence. He was being held yesterday at the Howard County Detention Center on an $830,000 bond.
Morales-Soriano's attorney, Bradley A. Goldbloom of Baltimore, called into question last night the accuracy of the 0.32 Breathalyzer reading, which was included in court records filed by police and announced Monday by the county's acting police chief.
"It's ridiculously high - I don't think anyone would be able to function at all, talk, walk or even be conscious," Goldbloom said. "It's my understanding that he had to blow seven or eight times before they were able to get any reading at all. If that's, in fact, the case, it would call into question the reliability of the machine and how the level was actually gathered or obtained."
Charging documents reviewed Tuesday morning made no mention of multiple attempts by police to get a reading.
Goldbloom said that when a suspect is not blowing into a machine correctly, it is common for police to have him or her repeat it. He said that after each attempt, the machine is supposed to expel the breath.
"If in fact the breath was remaining in the machine, it's possible, if not probable, the more times someone blows [into the machine] the higher the rating is going to be," Goldbloom said.
Goldbloom declined to say how he obtained details of the testing done on his client.
Police could not be reached for comment about that last night.
The accident is likely to revive concerns about illegal aliens obtaining driver's licenses.
"These issues of laxity are simply going to expose people on a personal basis and national basis to just what happened," said Neil Berro, executive director of the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License in New York. "The example was as personal as the next time you cross the street or get in a car, or as macro as 9-11. In between those issues are concerns related to identity theft."
But Kim Propeack, a spokeswoman for CASA of Maryland, an aid group for Hispanic immigrants, argued that the country is better off knowing who is on its roads and where they live, that they've passed a driving-skills test and that they have insurance. Murray Simon, president of Conexiones, a Hispanic educational group in Howard County, said that Morales-Soriano's immigration status is irrelevant.
"My personal feeling is that this whole business of illegal and legal is just a case of name-calling," Simon said.
This is not Morales-Soriano's first traffic stop in the state. On July 2, he was pulled over in Riverdale and charged with driving the wrong way on a one-way street, speeding and negligent driving. He was found not guilty, according to court records.
In February, Howard County police were called to the scene of an accident on a parking lot on Robert Oliver Place in Columbia. No one was injured, but Morales-Soriano smelled of alcohol, a spokesman for the Howard County state's attorney's office said.
After being unable to maintain his balance, Morales-Soriano refused a Breathalyzer test, the spokesman said, and he was issued four citations and released to the custody of a relative.
An officer at the scene mistakenly gave him a form that was supposed to be sent to the state's motor vehicle agency, which prevented officials from suspending his license as the law requires when a driver refuses a Breathalyzer.
Prosecutors later dropped the charges, noting weak evidence.
It is unlikely, however, that even a conviction on traffic charges would have raised concerns about Morales-Soriano's immigration status. This month, he was found guilty of having unsafe tires after Maryland State Police pulled him over on Interstate 70 in Frederick County in September.
Although experts said they consider Maryland's driver's license policies sound, federal authorities and other states have long raised concerns about the rules governing North Carolina driver's licenses.
Florida, for instance, considers North Carolina driver's licenses and those from 19 other states "secondary forms of identification" and requires a passport, birth certificate or proof of naturalization to accompany them.
Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, called North Carolina's former approach a "no-questions-asked" policy.
Until this year, North Carolina accepted an easy-to-obtain tax identification number in lieu of a Social Security number on its driver license applications, which the federal government has warned states not to do.
The purpose of the identification number is to enable foreigners who don't have Social Security numbers to pay federal income taxes, but the number also can be a "back door" to a mortgage or, in a few states, a driver's license.
The Internal Revenue Service's Web site says that the identification numbers are to be used "only for tax-identification" purposes, but it also says that the agency accepts the documents necessary to obtain the number "at face value without validating their authenticity" and that the agency does not verify applicants' "legal presence" in the United States.
"Many, many states have been asking themselves, why are we using this number when it doesn't help anybody as far as identifying our drivers," said Margaret Howell, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. "So we changed the law."
The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration said that Morales-Soriano used his North Carolina driver's license issued Feb. 5, 2004, to obtain a license here July 8, 2005.
The home listed as Morales-Soriano's residence in court documents was purchased for $408,000 Nov. 6, according to online property records. The purchaser is listed as Eduardo R. Morales, though it could not be learned yesterday if that is Morales-Soriano or a relative
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/ ... -headlines
Mother seeks justice for daughter killed in crash
Mother seeks justice for daughter killed in crash
By: JO MORELAND - Staff Writer
NORTH COUNTY TIMES
OCTOBER 31, 2006
LA MESA -- The death of her daughter in a traffic crash that littered a Ramona highway with wreckage has given Melanie Kortlang a new mission.
The 43-year-old La Mesa woman said last week that she now wants justice for her child, 22-year-old Amy Kortlang of Ramona.
She also wants to know how the illegal immigrant arrested for murder after the collision could be here despite previous charges and deportation, Kortlang said.
"How was this (man) allowed to come back ... and do the ultimate, which was kill my daughter?" Kortlang asked rhetorically in a phone interview.
She said no one in government has offered any explanations about how Rafael Ramirez Perez, deported to Mexico earlier this year, was back on the road in Ramona the night of Oct. 16.
That's when Perez, 22 and with no valid driver's license, allegedly caused a four-vehicle crash on Highway 67 that killed Amy Kortlang and injured three other people.
He then walked away, authorities said. Perez was arrested two miles from the accident.
"My goal right now is to keep Amy alive (in memory), and to prevent this from ever happening again," Melanie Kortlang said. "We've got to stop it."
Kortlang said she plans on attending all of Perez's court appearances. Her thoughts about him, she said, are "not Christian."
In addition to murder, Perez is charged with gross vehicular manslaughter and two counts of driving under the influence, plus driving without a license.
There is an enhancement alleging he has had at least three drunken driving convictions within the last 10 years.
If convicted of all the charges, Deputy District Attorney Kristian Trocha said Perez could be in prison for 25 years to life.
Perez is currently being held in county jail with bail set at $1 million, in case an immigration hold on him somehow fails, Trocha said.
California Highway Patrol Officer Brian Pennings said Perez was booked into the jail the same as any other suspect. The jails are operated by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
"We screen for birthplace and citizenship of everyone who comes into custody," said Sheriff's Department Capt. Glenn Revell.
He said the information goes to federal immigration authorities. They place jail holds on any suspected illegal immigrants, and those suspects are turned over to them after local cases are completed, Revell said.
Lauren Mack, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego, said after the fatal crash that Perez was handed over to immigration officials earlier this year, after serving time for a drunken driving conviction.
He was deported to Mexico in March, Mack said.
On the night of the crash, Perez was driving his company's work truck when the fatal accident happened on a dark stretch of Highway 67, south of Mussey Grade Road, Highway Patrol officers said.
The company pickup truck veered into the opposite lane and sideswiped a Dodge Caliber before slamming head-on into Amy Kortlang's red Honda Civic. The Honda overturned, and she died at the scene.
Just 18 minutes earlier, Melanie Kortlang said, she had finished some fun text messaging for the night with her daughter, part of their daily communication.
"She had a wonderful sense of humor," Melanie Kortlang said.
The mother recalled her daughter, a cosmetologist who worked at Supercuts in Ramona and at Poway Chevrolet, as a beautiful, responsible young woman "with a smile that would knock your socks off."
"We were at that stage where we confided in one another," said Kortlang.
Her daughter loved her boyfriend of two years, and was on her way to watch him play in a pool tournament in Poway when the crash happened, she said.
Melanie Kortlang and her husband, Robert, also have a 16-year-old daughter, Jessica.
"It's just this emptiness to us," Kortlang said about her oldest daughter's death. "I've never been so sad in my entire life. It's moment by moment. Right now I'm in a tunnel."
-- Contact staff writer Jo Moreland at (760) 740-3524 or jmoreland@nctimes.com.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/10 ... _30_06.txt
Melanie Kortlang,, an outraged mother !!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iig
I'm astonished that there isn't a steady, unrelenting, building rage against this crime in particular. Especially now! Why am I not hearing about his parents being outraged?! Why am I not hearing about her parents outrage?! I've heard about it only on O'Reilly. It's not featured on the main pages of Fox or CNN and it's not mentioned on Drudge at all! I don't understand why more people aren't flipping out over this disgusting crime.
AS POSTED ON "WE HIRE ALIENS"
I have the California Highway Report with Mark Kackstetter admitting to hiring this illegal alien who was driving a company truck assigned to him by Mr. Kackstetter, owner of MK Concrete. This illegal alien was driving the truck drunk and hit my 22 year old daughter and killed her. He than took off and ran away and was caught 2 miles away from the scene. This illegal alien has 4 prior DUI convictions and was Formally Deported in March of 2006. He was hired in June by MK Concrete, was asked for a drivers license by Kackstetter and the alien told him he lost it so Mr K told him to go to DMV and get new one. Never happened. The alien was given assignment of the truck that killed my beautiful Angel. I have yet to even hear from the company to apologize or anything. We as her family are not going to allow her tragic story to be swept under the rug as so many crimes occur committed by the illegals coming into this country and the lowlife scumbags that hire them as well need to be prosecuted. My daughter was just beginning her life and to have it be so violently taken is just not acceptable. Wake Up America. Please stop hiring illegals. Do not give them a reason to come here illegally. Maybe just maybe it will stop another innocent life from being taken. I wish this pain on no other mother. Please pass on the story of my Angel, Amy Marie Kortlang, help me keep her memory alive ! Thank You, Melanie Kortlang,, an outraged mother !!!
Mother seeks justice for daughter killed in crash
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/10 ... _30_06.txt
Marine, friend die in crash
Marine, friend die in crash
Howard soldier called 'bright light'
11/30/06
By Nate Sandstrom
Brian Mathews was a good listener, willing to do anything for a friend. He spent hours talking with his best friends as they walked around their Columbia neighborhood or sat on his stoop.
Mathews, a 2003 Howard High School graduate, fulfilled a lifelong dream to become a Marine, willing to enlist only as a member of the infantry. He served in Iraq from September 2004 to April 2005 and later in Pacific duty stations, where he became a Marine combat swim instructor.
"He was a very bright light in a short life span," said his mother, Trudy Mathews.
Family and friends remembered Cpl. Brian Mathews, 21, of Columbia, this week after he died following a car accident on Thanksgiving night.
Mathews was a passenger in a car driven by a date, Jennifer Bower, 24, of Montgomery Village, when they were rear-ended by a car while stopped at a red light on Route 175 at Route 108, police said.
Police said that car was driven by Eduardo Raul Morales-Soriano, 25, of Laurel, who was not injured.
He has been charged with two counts of manslaughter while intoxicated, two counts of homicide by motor vehicle and driving while under the influence of alcohol, police said. He was held in the Howard County Detention Center on $830,000 bond, a court spokesman said.
Police said that tests taken after the accident found Morales-Soriano had a blood alcohol content level of 0.32 percent, four times the legal limit.
Vacation plans
Mathews arrived home on Thanksgiving, and planned to spend the weekend with his family and friends, including a celebration for the 21st birthday of one of his best friends, Kelly Rivers.
Rivers and fellow best friend Melissa Javier grew up on the same street, often spending time outside playing games or just talking on walks.
"He was an amazing listener," Rivers said. "He was like a brother to both of us."
"He pretty much helped me with everything I've ever had to deal with my entire life" from making decisions to providing a male perspective, Javier said.
His giving nature extended beyond just their friendship circle, Javier said. She remembered that in middle school Mathews would date girls who asked him out, even if they weren't the most popular.
"He would always judge people by what was on the inside," she said. "He wouldn't apologize and it wouldn't bother him if he was being different."
Rivers and Javier remembered trick-or-treating with Mathews when he dressed as a Marine or a Secret Service agent, and playing "capture the flag" with Mathews when he dressed up in camouflage and drew up strategies to win the game.
Mathews had a long family history of military service. His great-grandfather died on a British submarine in World War I. One grandfather lost a leg while fighting in World War II and the other was a Navy pilot who died in a crash off an aircraft carrier in 1958.
His father, Bill Mathews, is a former Marine sergeant and retired Navy captain, while brother Kyle Mathews is a Naval Academy graduate and a Navy pilot. His sister, Heather Hoppe, is in the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Mathews was set to leave the military in June. He planned to go to college and was considering becoming a teacher, family and friends said.
Besides his military service, family members remember him for his giving nature.
"He always wanted to protect the child who was picked on," said Trudy Mathews.
That nature continued even after he died. Trudy Mathews received a call this week saying his organs had been used in several transplants.
When she took Brian to renew his driver's license, she said, he had decided to become an organ donor. He said at the time that "I won't need them and it could save other lives."
Mathews' life touched many people, friends and family said.
"It's very heartbreaking seeing all these kids I've known since kindergarten just devastated," said Lynn Javier, Melissa Javier's mother.
A viewing and service was held for Mathews on Nov. 29 and he will be buried at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery.
Attempts to reach the family of Jennifer Bower were unsuccessful.
Reporter Mike Santa Rita contributed to this article.
E-mail Nate Sandstrom at Nate Sandstrom@patuxent.com
