http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsre ... neland.htm

June 6, 2005

VINELAND, N.J. POLICE USE IMMIGRATION DATABASE TO CATCH FUGITIVE ALIEN CHILD MURDERER

Jamaican stopped on traffic violation was an absconder fleeing deportation
VINELAND, N.J.-- Vineland police used ICE's Law Enforcement Support Center Tuesday to identify a violent fugitive alien convicted in 1987 of beating his own child to death.

Robert Lettman, a citizen of Jamaica, was observed by police making an illegal U-turn when he was stopped and identified through ICE's immigration database.

Lettman was arrested Aug. 14, 1986 for killing his child in March 1986. He was convicted Jan. 28, 1987 in Broward County, Fla., of 3rd Degree Murder. He was sentenced to 15 years prison and was released after serving two years, with the remainder of his sentence to be completed on probation.

In December 1996, a federal immigration judge ordered Lettman deported. Convicted aggravated felons are presumed deportable under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Lettman appealed numerous times and exhausted all forms of legal relief in July 2002. An arrest warrant was issued on Lettman by ICE's Miami detention and removal office and Lettman failed to surrender as ordered.

"The Law Enforcement Support Center's immigration database is a powerful tool for police on the street, and the Vineland police used it to help us take a violent criminal alien off the streets," said Field Office Director Raymond Simonse, who leads ICE detention and removal efforts in New Jersey. "It's clear how immigration enforcement can be a matter of public safety and it takes a unified approach to law enforcement and shared resources like the LESC to protect the public."

ICE placed a law enforcement detainer on Lettman from the LESC and Vineland police took him into custody until ICE's New Jersey fugitive unit responded to take custody of him. Per the law, ICE holds fugitive absconders in detention until the are deported.

# ICE #

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.