Mexico

Man accused of attacking 2 women in NE Portland now faces 27-count indictment

A Multnomah County grand jury has returned a 27-count indictment against Sergio Jose Martinez, who is accused of attacking two women in Northeast Portland last week.

Martinez, described as a "serial immigration violator,'' is accused of sexually assaulting a 65-year-old woman July 24 after entering her Northeast Irving Street apartment through an open window, threatening her with a metal rod, tying her up with scarves and socks, punching her then escaping with her car.

Hours later, he's accused of attacking another woman at knifepoint as she was leaving work and was walking to her car in a parking garage on Northeast Halsey Street. He forced the 37-year-old woman into her car, but she got out, according to police. He then tackled her to the ground and repeatedly bashed her head into the concrete before taking off in her car, deputy district attorney Amity Girt wrote in a probable cause affidavit. "Help, he has a knife...he's threatening to kill me!,'' the woman screamed at the top of her lungs, Girt wrote.

Martinez, 31, is accused of 17 charges stemming from the sexual assault, according to the indictment. He's accused of four counts of first-degree burglary, two counts of first-degree sodomy, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree robbery, and one count each of second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and identity theft in the Irving Street case, according to the indictment.

In connection with the second attack, he's accused of nine more counts, charging him with two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, and one count each of attempted first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, unauthorized use of a vehicle and identity theft.

A final count of first-degree criminal trespass stems from a separate allegation that he unlawfully entered an apartment on Northeast Clackamas Street in Portland as he fled from the second offense. It's also the location where police captured and arrested him. He was found with a bloody, serrated knife with a blade about six inches long, according to court records.

Before he was booked into jail, he was treated for a "meth induced psychosis,'' according to court records.

Martinez is being held on $3.6 million bail in connection with the indictment.

He's scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Martinez has a lengthy criminal record. His immigration status has shined renewed light on conflicting interpretations of immigration enforcement by local and federal authorities.

According to Virginia Kice, of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Martinez is a "serial immigration violator'' who was removed from the country "no less than 13 times since 2008.'' He has a lengthy criminal history that spans three states, including prior convictions for attempted battery, burglary and illegal re-entry to the United States from Mexico.

ICE had lodged an immigration detainer against Martinez when he had been in the Multnomah County jail Dec. 7, according to the agency. The agency requested ICE be notified before his release.

No notification was given when Martinez was released from custody the next day. Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese issued a lengthy statement defending the release. He said the sheriff's office followed Oregon law, which prohibits public agencies from spending money, using equipment or enlisting personnel to enforce federal immigration law.

Reese said federal immigration officials should have sent a criminal arrest warrant signed by a judge to the sheriff's office to detain Martinez. Instead, Reese said, federal immigration officials issued a civil detainer, which he argued can't be used in Oregon.

Yet Kice, the ICE spokeswoman, said Wednesday that the sheriff's statement reflected a "fundamental misunderstanding of the enforcement process.''

"The cases of individuals being sought for removal are almost always handled through an administrative process as opposed to a criminal proceeding,'' Kice said. " The process doesn't involve the issuance of a judicial arrest warrant, neither is there a legal requirement that ICE provide a judicial warrant to law enforcement agencies in order to receive notification about the impending release of a criminal alien.''

Kice said the case shows the importance of recognizing immigration detainers.

"This case underscores yet again why immigration detainers are such a crucial enforcement tool for furthering public safety and why it is highly problematic, and even tragic, when jurisdictions choose to willfully ignore them,'' she said, in a prepared statement.

A Multnomah County grand jury Wednesday returned a 27-count indictment against Sergio Jose Martinez stemming from two assaults in Northeast Portland on July 24. (Aimee Green/The Oregonian ) Read more about Man accused of attacking 2 women in NE Portland now faces 27-count indictment

Donald Trump in Brentwood speech vows to eliminate MS-13 gang

President Donald Trump came to the doorstep of communities hard-hit by gang violence Friday, describing some Long Island neighborhoods as “blood-stained killing fields” that are “under siege.”

Speaking at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood, Trump said he will ask Congress to augment the 6,000 immigration and customs enforcement officers currently in place by funding 10,000 more agents. He also said he will seek to add hundreds of immigration judges, and crack down on “sanctuary cities” that don’t enforce federal immigration laws.

Addressing gang members, Trump vowed: “We will find you, we will arrest you, we will jail you and we will deport you.”

Standing in front of uniformed law enforcement officers in dress blues, Trump said he supported the police — and also suggested that officers treat suspects rougher:

“Like when you guys put somebody in the car, and you’re protecting their head — the way you put the hand over — like don’t hit their head, and they’ve just killed somebody, don’t hit their head? I said, ‘You can take the hand away, okay.’”

The Suffolk County Police Department released a statement later in the evening that said, “As a department, we do not and will not tolerate roughing up of prisoners.” Suffolk’s former top uniformed officer, James Burke, is serving a federal prison sentence for beating a suspect and orchestrating a cover up.

Law enforcement has attributed 17 Long Island slayings since January 2016 to MS-13. That includes the murder of four young men lured to a Central Islip park and the murder of two teenage friends walking down the street.

Trump, who grew up in Queens, said he was surprised by the gang violence on Long Island.

“I grew up on Long Island,” he said. “I didn’t know about this. . . . I never thought I’d be up here talking about liberating the towns of Long Island, where I grew up.”

Trump shook hands with officers as he took the stage and was greeted with chants of “USA! USA!” from the crowd of uniformed officers and Republican elected officials.

Trump told police officers in attendance, “We have your backs 100 percent, not like in the old days.” Police cheered the remark.

“I am the big, big admirer, and believer, in law enforcement, from day one,” he said in his 37-minute speech. “We are going to destroy the vile criminal cartel, MS-13, and many other criminal gangs.”

Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) introduced Trump, calling the president a “great advocate” for law enforcement. “President Trump knows that blue lives do matter,” he said. “MS-13 is going to be destroyed . . . ”

Some community members and immigration advocates said the president exaggerated the dangers in the community to justify an immigration crackdown.

“I drove through Brentwood this morning and people were jogging, children were playing in the street. It’s complete hyperbole and misreprents the community,” said Walter Barrientos, Long Island organizing director for immigration group Make the Road New York.

Assemb. Phil Ramos (D-Brentwood) said Suffolk County police and the FBI have worked diligently to address the gang murders. “The community is going through a very difficult time, but President Trump is using these tragedies as a way to inflame anti-immigrant feelings, purely for political gains,” he said.

Robert Zimmerman, a Democratic National Committeeman from Great Neck, said Trump used the police as a political tool.

“We all recognize the savagery and the evil of MS-13, but when the president referred to Long Island as a killing field, that was an affront to every Suffolk and Nassau police officer,” he said.

Others praised the speech. Evelyn Rodriguez, the mother of Kayla Cuevas, one of the girls murdered by MS-13, was invited to attend the speech by Rep. Peter King’s office.

“What he was saying was what we’ve been asking for — more resources, for him to support our Suffolk PD,” she said in an interview after the president’s speech. “We need change here in our community.."

Fuad Faruque, 21 of Brentwood and vice-chair of the Stony Brook College Republicans, said he lived in the community all his life. “People do not feel safe at night walking their streets. Businesses are ashamed to say they’re based there. I don’t think it’s hyperbole,” he said....

Returning to the topic of immigration, Trump also said, “We will build the wall,” saying it would help prevent illegal immigration from Mexico and obstruct the drug trade. “The wall is vital as a tool for ending the humanitarian disaster.”

Trump blamed former President Barack Obama’s immigration policies for allowing a surge of criminals into the country.

He said of 150,000 unaccompanied minors that have entered the United States, 4,000 came to Suffolk — including seven now indicted for murder.

He also appeared to take a broader swipe at current immigrants.

“You say, what happened to the old days where people came into this country, they worked and they worked and they worked, and they had families, and they paid taxes, and they did all sorts of things, and their families got stronger, and they were closely knit? We don’t see that.” Read more about Donald Trump in Brentwood speech vows to eliminate MS-13 gang

Consulate of Mexico visits Ontario, seeks to support Mexican nationals

ONTARIO — The Consulate of Mexico in Boise visited Four Rivers Cultural Center, Saturday, to support Mexican nationals in obtaining documentation, counseling as well as additional information.

About 70 Mexican nationals attended the one-day event to obtain a passport, Consular ID, voting ID or birth certificates.

The mobile consulate offers Mexican nationals the chance to obtain documentation from their country within a couple of hours that otherwise may have taken weeks to receive, Claudia Espinosa, a representative of the protection affairs department with the Consulate, said.

Moreover, the mobile consulate allows those who may not have a driver’s license to be able to visit with the organization that is located in Boise.

The last time the Consulate of Mexico visited Ontario was nearly seven years ago, Espinosa noted.

“With new immigration policies we are trying to visit areas outside of Boise to provide our services to as many as we can,” Espinosa said.

It’s now more important than ever to do this, Celso Humberto Delgado Ramirez, Consul of Mexico in Boise, said.

Recently, the consulate visited Montana to offer the same outreach, Delgado Ramirez said.

During his speech to the attendees, the consul commended those who showed up for the services and echoed the organization’s ambition to continue offering services as well as consular protection to Mexicans.

Delgado Ramirez also advised attendees to create a plan of emergency for those who are living in the country without proper documentation in case they are faced with deportation, especially if they have young children.

Moreover, he spoke about what an undocumented person should do in case they are detained by Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Know your rights,” he said to the crowd. “Ask to speak with the Consulate of Mexico, to call a lawyer and to family, if possible.”

Throughout the day Mexican nationals were able to have their paperwork processed, have their biometrics taken as well as visit with local resources in the area.

One of the local organizations in attendance included the Oregon Human Development Corporation. Janeth Mendoza, a workforce consultant, said she exchanged information with several attendees about work trainings and emergency services. The Malheur County Health Department and Treasure Valley Community also hosted a booth at the event.

At the end of the event, consulate coordinators distributed documentation to Mexican nationals.

Celso Humberto Delgado Ramirez, Consul of Mexico in Boise, speaks to a crowd before attendees receive various documentation including passports, Consular ID and more, alongside Claudia Espinosa. About 70 Mexican nationals attended a mobile consulate provided by the Consulate of Mexico, in Boise, Saturday, in Ontario. The one day event sought to assist individuals with obtaining Mexican documentation. Read more about Consulate of Mexico visits Ontario, seeks to support Mexican nationals

Oregon Department of Corrections: Foreign National Drug Crime Report May 2017

Information obtained from the Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) indicated that on May 1, 2017 that 107 of the 969 foreign nationals (criminal aliens) in the state’s prison system were incarcerated for drug crimes, 11.04 percent of the criminal alien prison population.

Using DOC U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immigration detainer numbers, the following table reveals the total number criminal alien inmates along with the number and percentage of those alien inmates incarcerated on May 1st in the state’s prisons for drug crimes.
 

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Month/Day/Year

DOC Total Inmates W/ICE Detainers

DOC Number of Inmates W/ICE Detainers for Drug Crimes

DOC Percent of Inmates W/ICE Detainers for Drug Crimes

May 1, 2017

969

107

11.04%

Source: Research and Evaluation DOC Report ICE inmates list 01 May 17.

Using DOC ICE immigration detainer numbers, the following table reveals the number and percentage of criminal alien inmates incarcerated on May 1st that were sent to prison from the state’s 36 counties for drug crimes.
 

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

County

DOC Number of Inmates W/ ICE Detainers by County Incarcerated for Drug Crimes

DOC Percent of Inmates W/ ICE Detainers by County Incarcerated for Drug Crimes

Multnomah

38

35.51%

Washington

16

14.95%

Clackamas

14

13.08%

Jackson

10

9.35%

Marion

9

8.41%

Deschutes

5

4.67%

Klamath

4

3.74%

Benton

2

1.87%

Lane

2

1.87%

Malheur

2

1.87%

Umatilla

2

1.87%

Lake

1

0.93%

Polk

1

0.93%

Wasco

1

0.93%

Baker

0

0.00%

Clatsop

0

0.00%

Columbia

0

0.00%

Coos

0

0.00%

Crook

0

0.00%

Curry

0

0.00%

Douglas

0

0.00%

Gilliam

0

0.00%

Grant

0

0.00%

Harney

0

0.00%

Hood River

0

0.00%

Jefferson

0

0.00%

Josephine

0

0.00%

Lincoln

0

0.00%

Linn

0

0.00%

Morrow

0

0.00%

OOS

0

0.00%

Sherman

0

0.00%

Tillamook

0

0.00%

Union

0

0.00%

Wallowa

0

0.00%

Wheeler

0

0.00%

Yamhill

0

0.00%

Total

107

100.00%

Source: Research and Evaluation DOC Report ICE inmates list 01 May 17.

Using DOC ICE immigration detainer numbers, the following table reveals the self-declared countries of origin of the 107 criminal alien inmates by number and percentage incarcerated on May 1st in the state’s prisons for drug crimes.
 

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Country

DOC Number of Inmates W/ ICE Detainers by Country Incarcerated for Drug Crimes

DOC Percent of Inmates W/ ICE Detainers by Country Incarcerated for Drug Crimes

 

Mexico

96

89.72%

 

Honduras

5

4.67%

 

Australia

1

0.93%

 

El Salvador

1

0.93%

 

Italy

1

0.93%

 

Laos

1

0.93%

 

Russia

1

0.93%

 

Unknown Countries

1

0.93%

 

Total

107

100.00%

 

Source: Research and Evaluation DOC Report ICE inmates list 01 May 17.

Criminal aliens from seven different countries have committed drug crimes against residents in the state of Oregon.

David Olen Cross of Salem, Oregon writes on immigration issues and foreign national crime. This report is a service to Oregon state, county and city governmental officials to help them assess the impact of foreign national crime in the state. He can be reached at docfnc@yahoo.com or at http://docfnc.wordpress.com/ Read more about Oregon Department of Corrections: Foreign National Drug Crime Report May 2017

Half of Oregon's criminal illegals held for sex crimes, 83% are Mexican

In a report that has national implications, almost half of the illegal immigrants held in Oregon jails in May faced serious sex crimes including rape, abuse and sodomy.

Of 969 illegals held in jail for that one month, 461 have been charged with the three sex crimes.

A majority are being held in Portland and Salem area jails, according to the report from immigration expert David Olen Cross, whose report is based on statistics from Oregon's Department Corrections and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers.

Most, over 83 percent, were from Mexico, according to Cross.

Nationally the number of criminal illegals held on sex crimes isn't fully known, but Cross' report suggests it is high. The Trump administration has put a focus on deporting criminal illegals.

Last week, the acting director of ICE said the administration is shifting its approach to also targeting those who come across the border illegally. He said it is wrong to let them go and wait for them to commit crimes.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com Read more about Half of Oregon's criminal illegals held for sex crimes, 83% are Mexican

No apologies: ICE chief says illegal immigrants should live in fear of deportation

Illegal immigrants should be living in fear of being deported, the chief of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday, pushing back against a growing sentiment among Democrats on Capitol Hill and activists across the country who have complained about agents enforcing the laws on the books.

Thomas D. Homan, acting director at ICE, said anyone in the country without authorization can be arrested and those who have been ordered deported by judges must be removed if laws are to have meaning.
 
His comments marked a major shift for an agency that President Obama forbade from enforcing the law when it came to more than 9 million of the country's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. Unshackled from Mr. Obama's strictures, agents have dramatically increased the number of arrests.
Advocacy groups are enraged and demand leniency for traumatized immigrants.
 
Mr. Homan makes no apologies.  "If you're in this country illegally and you committed a crime by being in this country, you should be uncomfortable, you should look over your shoulder. You need to be worried,  Mr. Homan testified to the House Appropriations Committee. No population is off the table."
 
The Trump administration is asking for significant boosts in spending for both border and interior enforcement, but it is meeting resistance from Democrats who oppose a crackdown.  Democrats will not accept a penny of funding for a new deportation force or a border wall,” said Rep. Nita M. Lowey of New York, the ranking Democrat on the committee.
 
Border Patrol acting Chief Carla Provost defended the 74 miles of fencing that President Trump wants to erect next year, saying the wall will plug holes where illegal activity is still a problem in San Diego and parts of Texas.
 
She said the southwestern border is at medium risk of penetration and needs the wall to assist. She said construction on the 74 miles would start in either March or April.
 
Mr. Homan, meanwhile, said he needs a major infusion of detention beds to hold the larger population of illegal immigrants, now that his agents have been unshackled from the restrictions under Mr. Obama.
 
He said the number of countries refusing to take back their deportees has been cut in half, while the number of jurisdictions looking to have their police and sheriff's deputies trained to process illegal immigrants in their jails has nearly doubled and will likely triple by the end of the year.
 
In addition, some 400,000 illegal immigrants ordered removed by judges but who were ignored under the Obama administration are now back on the list of priorities.
 
All of that means more illegal immigrants to be detained in preparation for deportation.
 
Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Maryland Democrat, told Mr. Homan not to try deporting drunken drivers.  DWI or traffic is not really considered to be the type of people that are hurting our country,  he said.
Mr. Homan, though, said drunken driving sounds like a public safety risk.  "They should be removed," he said.
 
Mr. Homan said anyone in the country without authorization is a target for enforcement.  "We shouldn't wait for them to become a criminal," he said.
 
That angered immigrant rights advocates, who said it showed antipathy toward illegal immigrants.
 
"Wow. How revealing," said Frank Sharry, executive director at America's Voice. "Homan makes it clear that the ICE strategy is to indiscriminately target the entire undocumented population in America and to intentionally spread fear throughout millions of deeply rooted families."  He called Mr. Homan's testimony extremist.
 
Mr. Homan pushed back against such criticism. He said his agents are enforcing the laws as written and no other branch of law enforcement faces the abusive questions his employees do.
 
He said the illegal immigrants deserve the blame for separating families. When a U.S. citizen commits a crime and goes to jail, he said, the police who catch him aren't blamed for keeping him from his family.
 
Mr. Homan said the increased risk of enforcement is part of the reason illegal immigration across the southwestern border is at its lowest level in decades.
Democrats, though, said his officers need to show more discretion.
 
Ms. Lowey raised the case of a 19-year-old man in New York who was arrested on the day of his high school prom, which she said sent the wrong signal.
She said the man had kept out of trouble and was arrested while waiting at a bus stop for school.
 
Mr. Homen defended the arrest as valid. He said the young man committed a crime when he sneaked across the border and ignored an immigration judge's order to be removed.
 
"He lost his case, and because we don't like the results of that case we forget about it?'   Mr. Homan asked Ms. Lowey.  "I don't know where else in the American justice system any other agency is told to ignore a judge's ruling."

Trump targets illegal immigrants who were given reprieves from deportation by Obama

In September 2014, Gilberto Velasquez, a 38-year-old house painter from El Salvador, received life-changing news: The U.S. government had decided to shelve its deportation action against him.

The move was part of a policy change initiated by then-President Barack Obama in 2011 to pull back from deporting immigrants who had formed deep ties in the United States and whom the government considered no threat to public safety...

Last month, things changed again for the painter, who has lived in the United States illegally since 2005 and has a U.S.-born child. He received news that the government wanted to put his deportation case back on the court calendar...

The Trump administration has moved to reopen the cases of hundreds of illegal immigrants...

Trump signaled in January that he planned to dramatically widen the net of illegal immigrants targeted for deportation, but his administration has not publicized its efforts to reopen immigration cases.

It represents one of the first concrete examples of the crackdown promised by Trump and is likely to stir fears among tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who thought they were safe from deportation.

While cases were reopened during the Obama administration as well, it was generally only if an immigrant had committed a serious crime, immigration attorneys say. The Trump administration has sharply increased the number of cases it is asking the courts to reopen, and its targets appear to include at least some people who have not committed any crimes since their cases were closed.

Between March 1 and May 31, prosecutors moved to reopen 1,329 cases, according to a Reuters' analysis of data from the Executive Office of Immigration Review, or EOIR. The Obama administration filed 430 similar motions during the same period in 2016.

Jennifer Elzea, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed the agency was now filing motions with immigration courts to reopen cases where illegal immigrants had "since been arrested for or convicted of a crime."

It is not possible to tell from the EOIR data how many of the cases the Trump administration is seeking to reopen involve immigrants who committed crimes after their cases were closed.

Attorneys interviewed by Reuters say indeed some of the cases being reopened are because immigrants were arrested for serious crimes, but they are also seeing cases involving people who haven't committed crimes or who were cited for minor violations, like traffic tickets.

"This is a sea change, said attorney David Leopold, former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association...

Elzea said the agency reviews cases, "to see if the basis for prosecutorial discretion is still appropriate."

POLICY SHIFTS

After Obama announced his shift toward targeting illegal immigrants who had committed serious crimes, prosecutors embraced their new discretion to close cases.

Between January 2012 and Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the government shelved some 81,000 cases...

Trump signed an executive order overturning the Obama-era policy on Jan. 25. Under the new guidelines, while criminals remain the highest priority for deportation, anyone in the country illegally is a potential target...

In Velasquez's case, for example, he was cited for driving without a license in Tennessee, where illegal immigrants cannot get licenses, he said.

"I respect the law and just dedicate myself to my work," he said. "I don't understand why this is happening."

Motions to reopen closed cases have been filed in 32 states, with the highest numbers in California, Florida and Virginia...

(Reporting by Mica Rosenberg and Reade Levinson in New York; Additional reporting by Julia Edwards Ainsley in Washington; Editing by Sue Horton and Ross Colvin) Read more about Trump targets illegal immigrants who were given reprieves from deportation by Obama

CBP Officers Catch Man Wanted for Sexual Assault of a Minor and Burglary as he Headed to Mexico

SAN DIEGO — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Ysidro port of entry yesterday took an undocumented man into custody, who was wanted for sexual assault of a minor and burglary, as he was attempting to enter into Mexico.

On Wednesday, April 26, Santiago Flores-Martinez, a 48-year-old undocumented Mexican citizen, was attempting to enter Mexico when he was stopped by the port’s Anti-Terrorism Contraband Enforcement Team (A-TCET) who was conducting southbound inspections of travelers.

A CBP officer conducted a query to get biometric information on the man via the “Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System” (IAFIS). CBP officers confirmed Flores-Martinez was an exact match to active National Crime Information Center (NCIC) arrest warrants out of Clackamas County, Oregon, on charges of sexual assault of a minor and first degree burglary stipulating no bail.

“CBP officers routinely encounter and stop dangerous fugitives, attempting to depart the United States,” said Pete Flores, director of field operations for CBP in San Diego. “Working with our law enforcement partners is not only critical but necessary in order to ensure justice is served.”

After the warrants were confirmed, CBP officers turned over custody of Flores-Martinez to the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). He will be extradited to Oregon to face charges.

CBP officers put an immigration detainer on Flores so that after the judicial process he will be returned to DHS custody.

Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

For more information about this case, please click on link to read a news release from the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office: http://www.clackamas.us/sheriff/pressreleases/2017-03-01-CCSOPR-SexAssaultSuspectSketch.html


For statistics on more of our apprehensions, please visit our CBP Enforcement Statistics webpage.

For statistics on criminal aliens apprehended, please visit our Criminal Alien Statistics webpage.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws. Read more about CBP Officers Catch Man Wanted for Sexual Assault of a Minor and Burglary as he Headed to Mexico

Suspect in sex assault of 9-year-old girl had been deported to Mexico

Oregon police were hunting an ex-con Mexican national accused of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old Portland girl while her younger sister slept just a few feet away.

Previously-deported Santiago Martinez-Flores, 48, has a decades old criminal history and already served time for assault, criminal mischief, unauthorized use of a vehicle and failure to perform the duties of a driver. He was deported in March 2001 after a two-year prison sentence but made his way back to the U.S. sometime before the February sexual assault in which he’s suspected, Fox 12 reported.

The girl was sexually assaulted as she slept in her apartment on Feb. 26, according to investigators. But she woke up during the incident and, after the intruder tried to hold her down, the girl was able to break free and run to her parents’ room, officials said.

The girl’s father quickly retrieved a gun and ran to confront the man, who had already escaped. However, the girl was able to describe her attacker and authorities said they found physical evidence linking Martinez-Flores to the crime.

Martinez-Flores may be using the alias “Felipe Coeto” or “Isidro Ramos Flores.”

“It's a terrible thing, and to have somebody take advantage of a child like that I think is one of the worst things that a human being can do,” neighbor Debra Griffith told KATU2. “I hope they put them away for a long, long time.” Read more about Suspect in sex assault of 9-year-old girl had been deported to Mexico

DACA and Deportations - what really happened

It would seem that if one were in a foreign country illegally and then were fortunate enough to be given a special "DACA" status and allowed to remain in the country, they would follow every law and obey every rule to maintain their protected status. 

It seems, however, that Juan Manual Montes decided the rules didn't apply to him.  He was caught sneaking back into the country after leaving to visit his girlfriend in Mexico.  Find out more. Read more about DACA and Deportations - what really happened

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