Jeanfromfillmore
12-23-2009, 02:44 AM
Illegal Alien Charged with Murder in Polk
Thursday, 10 December 2009 04:24
ANOTHER DANGEROUS ILLEGAL ALIEN FOUND IN FLORIDA AS REPORTED IN THE LAKELAND LEDGER - FIND THE ENTIRE STORY AND RELATED SIDEBARS HERE:
http://www.theledger.com/article/20091209/NEWS/912105048/1338/NEWS00?Title=Teen-s-Residency-Status-Eluded-Feds
LAKELAND | Through nine arrests, no one questioned whether 14-year-old Noel Cruz-Diego was in the U.S. legally until he was charged with burglary, robbery and stabbing a Lakeland man 43 times last month.
Juvenile arrest reports obtained by The Ledger this week detail charges against him during 2 1/2 years and show that law enforcement knew for at least two years the teen was born in Mexico.
But an immigration detainer wasn't placed on the teenager until recently by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, when the agency was notified of Cruz-Diego's questionable status by the Polk County Sheriff's Office, according to DHS officials.
Although a minor, Cruz-Diego faces adult charges in the most recent case, in which he is accused of breaking into Daniel Granton's home Nov. 18 and stabbing him.
Cruz-Diego was transferred from the Juvenile Assessment Center and was booked into the Polk County Jail on Tuesday afternoon on charges of attempted felony murder, burglary of a dwelling with an assault or battery with a weapon, and robbery with a deadly weapon, according to the State Attorney's Office.
"The detainer mandates that the law enforcement agency notify ICE (U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement) upon an individual's eligibility for release and allow ICE to investigate an individual's status and determine whether or not they are amenable for removal from the United States," according to ICE spokeswoman Nicole Navas.
Navas said no agency has contacted ICE in the past about any of Cruz-Diego's cases, and she could not comment specifically on his immigration status.
A Department of Juvenile Justice spokeswoman said every child who is arrested and has a questionable status is screened.
If a child's immigration status is questioned, it is then forwarded to ICE for a more thorough investigation, said Samadhi Jones, DJJ's deputy director of communications.
But Jones said Wednesday she did not know the exact processes that are followed after the arrest of a child.
She also said she could not comment directly about the teenager's case, including whether proper procedures were followed by DJJ officials in verifying Cruz-Diego's residency status.
TROUBLED YOUTH
In the last 2 1/2 years, Noel Cruz-Diego has been arrested numerous times, records from the Sheriff's Office and Lakeland police show.
The 14-year-old's first charges in May 2007 were for breaking into classrooms at McKeel Academy of Applied Technology in Lakeland and stealing a theater system and a cell phone, spreading sugar on one teacher's desk and pouring fake blood on another's desk, according to sheriff's reports.
At the time, he was 12 years old.
In that case, Cruz-Diego was convicted and sentenced to probation, which included a 6 p.m. curfew and required him to write a letter of apology to the victim, the records show. He was also ordered to attend the Thinking for a Change Program, which he did not complete.
About six months later, the boy violated his probation by not following curfew and running away from home, records show, and he was placed on conditional release.
In that November 2007 case, sheriff's deputies first noted his place of birth as Mexico.
Just weeks later, he improperly left the court-ordered probation program.
Cruz-Diego was then caught breaking into homes and stealing items at the George Town Mobile Home Park in Lakeland on Dec. 30 and 31, 2007, according to Lakeland police reports.
In the Dec. 30 case, he was charged with burglary of a structure and larceny for removing a window screen and stealing several purses from a mobile home, reports said.
A day later, police caught him using a box cutter to slice through screens, and he then entered mobile home porches with an accomplice, reports show. That led to eight counts of burglary, three counts of larceny, possession of burglary tools, prowling and resisting an officer without violence when he ran from police.
He was held at the Juvenile Detention Center for 52 days before he was sentenced to six months in the Polk Halfway House for moderate-risk residential treatment in February 2008. He was released in August 2008.
Nearly six months passed before Cruz-Diego was in trouble again. Then, reports show, he was charged with disturbing the peace in February 2009 by interfering with school administrative functions. Details of what happened were unavailable.
He was sentenced to probation but was arrested again in May 2009 for failing to make his court appearance.
In June, he was held for seven days at the Juvenile Assessment Center before being sentenced to probation, again.
During the course of nearly three years, Cruz-Diego's arrests led to him being held in secure detention for 29 weeks.
FUNDING CUTS
On Wednesday, DJJ's spokeswoman said legislative funding cuts in 2006 eliminated a position that researched in detail the residency status of those in DJJ custody.
Before that happened, the agency sent a letter to police and sheriff's departments around the state in 2005, asking for assistance in notifying ICE officials when illegal immigrants were arrested.
But PCSO spokesman Scott Wilder said Wednesday he was not familiar with that request.
"If DJJ needs help in doing a reporting system, we would be happy to work with them," he said. "We're always willing to do the right thing."
http://www.americanpartyofflorida.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=270:illegal-alien-charged-with-murder-in-polk&catid=1
Thursday, 10 December 2009 04:24
ANOTHER DANGEROUS ILLEGAL ALIEN FOUND IN FLORIDA AS REPORTED IN THE LAKELAND LEDGER - FIND THE ENTIRE STORY AND RELATED SIDEBARS HERE:
http://www.theledger.com/article/20091209/NEWS/912105048/1338/NEWS00?Title=Teen-s-Residency-Status-Eluded-Feds
LAKELAND | Through nine arrests, no one questioned whether 14-year-old Noel Cruz-Diego was in the U.S. legally until he was charged with burglary, robbery and stabbing a Lakeland man 43 times last month.
Juvenile arrest reports obtained by The Ledger this week detail charges against him during 2 1/2 years and show that law enforcement knew for at least two years the teen was born in Mexico.
But an immigration detainer wasn't placed on the teenager until recently by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, when the agency was notified of Cruz-Diego's questionable status by the Polk County Sheriff's Office, according to DHS officials.
Although a minor, Cruz-Diego faces adult charges in the most recent case, in which he is accused of breaking into Daniel Granton's home Nov. 18 and stabbing him.
Cruz-Diego was transferred from the Juvenile Assessment Center and was booked into the Polk County Jail on Tuesday afternoon on charges of attempted felony murder, burglary of a dwelling with an assault or battery with a weapon, and robbery with a deadly weapon, according to the State Attorney's Office.
"The detainer mandates that the law enforcement agency notify ICE (U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement) upon an individual's eligibility for release and allow ICE to investigate an individual's status and determine whether or not they are amenable for removal from the United States," according to ICE spokeswoman Nicole Navas.
Navas said no agency has contacted ICE in the past about any of Cruz-Diego's cases, and she could not comment specifically on his immigration status.
A Department of Juvenile Justice spokeswoman said every child who is arrested and has a questionable status is screened.
If a child's immigration status is questioned, it is then forwarded to ICE for a more thorough investigation, said Samadhi Jones, DJJ's deputy director of communications.
But Jones said Wednesday she did not know the exact processes that are followed after the arrest of a child.
She also said she could not comment directly about the teenager's case, including whether proper procedures were followed by DJJ officials in verifying Cruz-Diego's residency status.
TROUBLED YOUTH
In the last 2 1/2 years, Noel Cruz-Diego has been arrested numerous times, records from the Sheriff's Office and Lakeland police show.
The 14-year-old's first charges in May 2007 were for breaking into classrooms at McKeel Academy of Applied Technology in Lakeland and stealing a theater system and a cell phone, spreading sugar on one teacher's desk and pouring fake blood on another's desk, according to sheriff's reports.
At the time, he was 12 years old.
In that case, Cruz-Diego was convicted and sentenced to probation, which included a 6 p.m. curfew and required him to write a letter of apology to the victim, the records show. He was also ordered to attend the Thinking for a Change Program, which he did not complete.
About six months later, the boy violated his probation by not following curfew and running away from home, records show, and he was placed on conditional release.
In that November 2007 case, sheriff's deputies first noted his place of birth as Mexico.
Just weeks later, he improperly left the court-ordered probation program.
Cruz-Diego was then caught breaking into homes and stealing items at the George Town Mobile Home Park in Lakeland on Dec. 30 and 31, 2007, according to Lakeland police reports.
In the Dec. 30 case, he was charged with burglary of a structure and larceny for removing a window screen and stealing several purses from a mobile home, reports said.
A day later, police caught him using a box cutter to slice through screens, and he then entered mobile home porches with an accomplice, reports show. That led to eight counts of burglary, three counts of larceny, possession of burglary tools, prowling and resisting an officer without violence when he ran from police.
He was held at the Juvenile Detention Center for 52 days before he was sentenced to six months in the Polk Halfway House for moderate-risk residential treatment in February 2008. He was released in August 2008.
Nearly six months passed before Cruz-Diego was in trouble again. Then, reports show, he was charged with disturbing the peace in February 2009 by interfering with school administrative functions. Details of what happened were unavailable.
He was sentenced to probation but was arrested again in May 2009 for failing to make his court appearance.
In June, he was held for seven days at the Juvenile Assessment Center before being sentenced to probation, again.
During the course of nearly three years, Cruz-Diego's arrests led to him being held in secure detention for 29 weeks.
FUNDING CUTS
On Wednesday, DJJ's spokeswoman said legislative funding cuts in 2006 eliminated a position that researched in detail the residency status of those in DJJ custody.
Before that happened, the agency sent a letter to police and sheriff's departments around the state in 2005, asking for assistance in notifying ICE officials when illegal immigrants were arrested.
But PCSO spokesman Scott Wilder said Wednesday he was not familiar with that request.
"If DJJ needs help in doing a reporting system, we would be happy to work with them," he said. "We're always willing to do the right thing."
http://www.americanpartyofflorida.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=270:illegal-alien-charged-with-murder-in-polk&catid=1