H
Harry F. Dope
Guest
Illegal Immigrants Charged in DWI Cases Test Judicial System
Apr. 18, 2008
Smithfield, N.C. - Seven-year-old Marcus Lassiter won't see his eighth
birthday. George Smith was on his morning commute to Duke University but
never made it to work. Betty Coates might struggle with daily tasks for the
rest of her life.
Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell sees a pattern among the cases of
these victims of drunken driving: Each accused driver was in the United
States illegally.
Bizzell pointed to Hipolito Hernandez, an illegal immigrant who faces
second-degree murder charges in the hit-and-run that killed Marcus last
Sunday.
"This case here is a prime example of the justice system letting the people
down," Bizzell said.
Nearly 300 illegal immigrants were convicted on driving-while-impaired
charges and placed in North Carolina prisons in 2007.
Hispanics also account for 18 percent of drunken-driving arrests, while
making up less than 7 percent of the state's population, according to a
study from the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center
aired in WRAL's documentary "Focal Point: Crossing the Line."
The study also showed that Hispanics involved in car crashes were 2.5 times
more likely to be drunk than white drivers and three times more likely to be
drunk than black drivers.
In the three cases listed above, each of the accused drunken drivers had
extensive contact with the judicial system - but had managed to elude the
immigration system until these incidents.
Hernandez, who originally gave an alias to police who arrested him Monday,
had been charged with DWI four times. Those cases were either pending,
dismissed on technicalities or reduced.
WRAL uncovered no evidence that immigration authorities ever detained
Hernandez during those times in court.
"He (Hernandez) shouldn't be here to start with. But he is," Bizzell said.
"He's violating the law. He's driving drunk. He's killing kids." Hernandez
stands accused of murder in the case but has not been convicted of any
charges.
Eblin Fabiel Ocampo Cruz, 22, was convicted in the wreck on Interstate 540
that injured Betty Coates on Oct. 25, 2007. An illegal immigrant, Cruz was
charged with a DWI in 2006 and had been in court six times that year.
Ricardo Contreras-de la Torre had been deported from the U.S. twice before
he plead guilty to DWI in the motor-vehicle death of 54-year-old George
Alwyn Smith on June 4, 2007.
A new law, though, has begun changing the judicial process for those
suspected of being illegal immigrants. When suspects are fingerprinted and
processed in jail, their information is often cross-referenced with
immigration records.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer on Hernandez.
Cruz and Contreras-de la Torre will be deported when they finish their
prison sentences - both set to no more than three years, thanks to plea
deals.
Latino advocacy groups often urge the public to step back from the emotion
over immigration and focus on the individual crimes.
Advocates admit that drunk driving is a problem within the Hispanic
community and have aired public-service ads to combat the problem.
Drunk driving is also the No. 1 killer of young Hispanic men, according to
the UNC study.
Bizzell said the tragedy is that deaths such as Marcus' and debilitating
injuries such as Coates' are preventable.
"This isn't about race. This isn't about Mexico versus the United States,"
Bizzell said. "It's about a drunk Mexican that's illegal, driving drunk, no
operator's license, stolen vehicle, killing a little 7-year-old boy."
--
"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno."
Apr. 18, 2008
Smithfield, N.C. - Seven-year-old Marcus Lassiter won't see his eighth
birthday. George Smith was on his morning commute to Duke University but
never made it to work. Betty Coates might struggle with daily tasks for the
rest of her life.
Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell sees a pattern among the cases of
these victims of drunken driving: Each accused driver was in the United
States illegally.
Bizzell pointed to Hipolito Hernandez, an illegal immigrant who faces
second-degree murder charges in the hit-and-run that killed Marcus last
Sunday.
"This case here is a prime example of the justice system letting the people
down," Bizzell said.
Nearly 300 illegal immigrants were convicted on driving-while-impaired
charges and placed in North Carolina prisons in 2007.
Hispanics also account for 18 percent of drunken-driving arrests, while
making up less than 7 percent of the state's population, according to a
study from the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center
aired in WRAL's documentary "Focal Point: Crossing the Line."
The study also showed that Hispanics involved in car crashes were 2.5 times
more likely to be drunk than white drivers and three times more likely to be
drunk than black drivers.
In the three cases listed above, each of the accused drunken drivers had
extensive contact with the judicial system - but had managed to elude the
immigration system until these incidents.
Hernandez, who originally gave an alias to police who arrested him Monday,
had been charged with DWI four times. Those cases were either pending,
dismissed on technicalities or reduced.
WRAL uncovered no evidence that immigration authorities ever detained
Hernandez during those times in court.
"He (Hernandez) shouldn't be here to start with. But he is," Bizzell said.
"He's violating the law. He's driving drunk. He's killing kids." Hernandez
stands accused of murder in the case but has not been convicted of any
charges.
Eblin Fabiel Ocampo Cruz, 22, was convicted in the wreck on Interstate 540
that injured Betty Coates on Oct. 25, 2007. An illegal immigrant, Cruz was
charged with a DWI in 2006 and had been in court six times that year.
Ricardo Contreras-de la Torre had been deported from the U.S. twice before
he plead guilty to DWI in the motor-vehicle death of 54-year-old George
Alwyn Smith on June 4, 2007.
A new law, though, has begun changing the judicial process for those
suspected of being illegal immigrants. When suspects are fingerprinted and
processed in jail, their information is often cross-referenced with
immigration records.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer on Hernandez.
Cruz and Contreras-de la Torre will be deported when they finish their
prison sentences - both set to no more than three years, thanks to plea
deals.
Latino advocacy groups often urge the public to step back from the emotion
over immigration and focus on the individual crimes.
Advocates admit that drunk driving is a problem within the Hispanic
community and have aired public-service ads to combat the problem.
Drunk driving is also the No. 1 killer of young Hispanic men, according to
the UNC study.
Bizzell said the tragedy is that deaths such as Marcus' and debilitating
injuries such as Coates' are preventable.
"This isn't about race. This isn't about Mexico versus the United States,"
Bizzell said. "It's about a drunk Mexican that's illegal, driving drunk, no
operator's license, stolen vehicle, killing a little 7-year-old boy."
--
"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno."
