Thread: DUI Suspect Being Investigated By Immigration, Customs

DUI Suspect Being Investigated By Immigration, Customs
Arturo Rodriguez Martinez Charged In Fatal Crash
VIDEO:

By Daniel Kemp/WLKY News
July 25, 2011

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. -- A man accused of crashing his SUV while drunk on Interstate 65, killing his 2-year-old daughter, is being investigated by immigration and customs.

Monday marked the first court appearance for 26-year-old Arturo Rodriguez Martinez.

Martinez is being held on a $500,000 cash bond, but a judge said even he was able to post that bond, he won't be getting out of jail.

Martinez doesn't speak English, so during his court appearance he was joined by a Spanish-speaking interpreter who is also an inmate in the Hardin County Detention Center.

Kentucky State Police said on Friday, Martinez lost control of his SUV near the Glendale Exit on I-65, crossed the median and flipped.

His daughter, Sidolena Martinez, was thrown from the vehicle and killed.

Police said Martinez was drunk and his daughter wasn't restrained.

WLKY has obtained a detainer notice for Martinez from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

It reads, in part, that an investigation has been initiated to determine whether Martinez, who is Mexican, is subject to removal from the United States.

But state police say if that happened, it would follow all criminal proceedings in Hardin County.

Meanwhile, the investigation now under way does keep Martinez from bonding out of jail if he was able to post his $500,000 bond.

Along with murder, Martinez is charged with drunken driving, driving without a license, failing to maintain insurance and failing to use a child safety seat.

He's due back in court next month.

Funeral arrangements for Sidolena Martinez are pending.

Read more: http://www.wlky.com/news/28657505/detai ... z1TE9RKa92

Related:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-244689.html

That little girl didn't have a chance, so let's hope her "daddy" doesn't have a chance at getting of scott-free.

I've watched the video - it states that Martinez couldn't speak English, so they got another inmate at the jail who speaks Spanish to translate for him. Wonder how often that happens, and if it would even be admissible in court....

Originally Posted by robnot

That little girl didn't have a chance, so let's hope her "daddy" doesn't have a chance at getting of scott-free.

I've watched the video - it states that Martinez couldn't speak English, so they got another inmate at the jail who speaks Spanish to translate for him. Wonder how often that happens, and if it would even be admissible in court....

I noticed that also, "he was joined by a Spanish-speaking interpreter who is also an inmate in the Hardin County Detention Center."

I don't believe that's permitted in OH. We hire "certified" (expensive) translators. If an approved translator isn't used, the defense attorney may claim his client was discriminated against and not fully aware of his rights.

Great. Just great. Ran into "Padilla vs. Kentucky" a few months ago - hope it gets covered at the outset too - supposedly the foreign defendant must be able to contact consulate and if they're not advised that pleading guilty could lead to deportation, the case becomes shaky.

I've never heard of using another inmate to translate either. That sounds risky to me. If no one else in the courtroom speaks Spanish, how do you know the inmate is translating everything correctly or not trying to get one over on the non-Spanish speakers? Usually, they have the headphone system or court-appointed translators.
I feel sorry for that poor child. I remember as a kid that it wasn't required for kids to be restrained or confined to the back seat. My brother, sister, and I never wore seatbelts and even rode on the floor or in the hatchback. Boy, were we lucky our parents never had an accident. And they never drove intoxicated either. In this day and age, people should know better.