Lodi rape suspect is illegal resident
Case reflects thicket of deportation policies regarding accused illegals
By Layla Bohm
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Last updated: Saturday, May 20, 2006 - 07:44:04 am PDT

Victor Hugo Vazquez, recently accused of trying to rape a young Lodi mother, is an illegal immigrant who had previous brushes with the law.

Even so, he was not considered for deportation. And his case reflects the thicket of policies and laws regarding the processing of illegal residents accused and convicted of crimes.

After he was accused of breaking into a Lodi home and nearly raping a young mother this month, investigators did some checking. That's when they learned he was living in the United States illegally, having somehow arrived in Lodi from Mexico.

Immigration officials and local police say that's usually how they find people who are in the country illegally. It's up to officers to decide whether to run immigration checks on random people, which could open the door to allegations of racial profiling or wrongfully detaining someone without cause.

Once Vazquez, 23, was booked into jail the night of May 9, officers had plenty of time and cause to contact immigration agents. They soon learned he illegally entered California from Mexico, Lodi police Officer Dale Eubanks said.

Vazquez, who pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree burglary and assault with intent to commit rape, made his second appearance Thursday in the Lodi branch of San Joaquin County Superior Court. There a judge suspended criminal proceedings when questions arose regarding Vazquez's mental health. He'll appear in Stockton court May 30, where a judge is expected to appoint a doctor to determine if Vazquez is fit to stand trial.

His criminal case will drag on, but when it's over, Vazquez will move on to immigration court. If he is found to be in the country illegally, a judge could order him removed from the country for 10 years — a ruling more likely if Vazquez has a felony conviction on his record. Anyone who violates such an order then faces federal criminal charges, and could go to federal prison.

But it took a near-rape for local authorities to even realize Vazquez wasn't in the state legally. Lodi police say he tried to enter a South Washington woman's home, though she had gone inside and managed to lock the doors before he got to them. He kicked in the door, slung the woman over his shoulder and was tearing off her clothes when officers arrived, Eubanks said after the incident.

The woman, 20, was not physically injured — nor was her 4-month-old baby who had been sleeping nearby. Two days later, though, she was still visibly shaken. Her husband, who had begun racing home after she called to say a strange man was asking her for a cigarette, was upset and angry.

After the story became public, Lodi residents wanted to know why Vazquez was even in the country, especially since police said they'd had prior contact with him.

Court records show that Vazquez was arrested in November for driving under the influence and having no license, and that he pleaded guilty a month later to a misdemeanor charge. This spring, he was charged with having drug paraphernalia, also a misdemeanor.

In late April, a judge signed an arrest warrant because Vazquez never showed up at the county jail to serve one day, part of his DUI conviction. Police caught up to Vazquez May 4 and booked him into jail on the warrant, but he was soon released from custody.

Five days later, he was arrested in the South Washington Street woman's home.

Eubanks said that, when he was working as a detective, he'd regularly come across gang members and call immigration agents to check their status. Relatively minor cases, such as Vazquez's previous charges, generally result in voluntary deportation, meaning that the person is merely taken to the border, Eubanks said. It is not a criminal charge.

Immigration officials encourage residents to call their tip line ((866) DHS-2ICE), and law enforcement officers can contact a Vermont-based center that keeps track of information.

"We understand that (officers) have to be sensitive to their local issues but the information is available through the national center we have in Vermont," said Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for Immigration Customs Enforcement.

The center receives "tens of thousands of queries" each year, she added.

But regular patrol officers don't generally have the time to call, said Lodi police Lt. Chet Somera. Though detectives regularly work with immigration agents and can reach them quickly, it's not so fast for patrol officers, he said.

If someone hasn't committed a crime, officers can't detain them just because they suspect an immigration problem: That's a federal crime that is not in the jurisdiction of local police, Somera said.

Lodi police have no established protocol, but some police agencies do have policies regarding when they can check immigration status. The Los Angeles Police Department, for instance, has a policy that bars officers from starting police action just to determine immigration status.

That policy prompted private organization Judicial Watch to file a lawsuit May 1, alleging that the LAPD was endangering citizens because of the policy. The group cited a burglary and rape case that would probably sound familiar to the Lodi woman who was assaulted this month.

In that case, according to Judicial Watch, which cited a 2004 New York Times article, an illegal immigrant robbed three people, broke into two apartments and then tried to rape a woman in front of her child. Unlike Vazquez, though, the man had a felony criminal history and had been deported.

But when he was stopped for traffic violations after returning to California, Los Angeles officers couldn't do anything.

The LAPD policy, known as "Special Order 40," was designed in part to prevent racial discrimination, and also to encourage all people, whether legal or illegal, to report crimes and provide information to police.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

First published: Saturday, May 20, 2006

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