Tag Archive for 'ICE'

Man in Scott County caught with 3 pounds of pot in glove compartment

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Steve Lannen
on November 12, 2008
in Police and Scott County
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From Kentucky State Police:

On Tuesday night, November 11, 2008 a Kentucky State Police Trooper assigned to Scott County located 3 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop.

Tpr. Derran Broyles observed a pickup truck being driven by a male not wearing his seat belt. Tpr. Broyles stopped the vehicle and smelled a strong odor of marijuana. A license check showed that the driver Francisco S. Gonzalez was unlicensed. The driver was arrested and 3 pounds of marijuana was located in the front vehicle compartment.

Mr. Gonzalez was lodged in the Scott County Jail and charged with No Seat Belt, No Operators License and Trafficking in Marijuana. Mr. Gonzalez is also being held on an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer.

The Kentucky State Police encourages the public to report any suspected drug activity to our anonymous drug tip-line at 1-800-DOPETIP.

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Autopsy: Immigrant’s death in jail was suicide

Published
by
H-L Justice Team
on October 5, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

By Valarie Honeycutt Spears and Steve Lannen
vhoneycutt@herald-leader.com

The final autopsy report released Friday on an immigrant who died in August at the Franklin County Regional Jail while she was waiting to be deported confirms the preliminary finding that she hung herself.

Ana Romero

Ana Romero

But Franklin County Coroner Will Harrod said he will continue to scrutinize Ana Romero Rivera’s case: The autopsy report from the state chief medical examiner will only be one piece of his investigation to determine what happened at the jail prior to the suicide on Aug. 22.

The final autopsy report raises other questions. In addition to finding that Romero died of asphyxiation, as a result of the hanging, the final autopsy report said she had abrasions on both hands.

Harrod said he saw the abrasions when he pronounced her dead, but he did not know what caused them. Romero had been placed in isolation for not eating just before her death.

Despite the fact that she was in isolation for not eating, there were signs that she had eaten prior to her death: Romero had “Congestion of the lungs with foreign vegetable material within the bronchi,” according to the report.

The report describes her as “well-nourished” at five-feet-one and 118 pounds.

Harrod said Friday that in addition to subpoenaing Kentucky State Police records of its investigation into Romero’s death, he has also subpoenaed jail and records of the emergency medical technicians who transported her to the hospital.

Kentucky State Police Trooper Ron Turley said KSP will close its investigation as soon as it receives a copy of the autopsy report.

The autopsy report said Romero had a substance called amitriptyline, an anti-depressant, in her system.

Romero’s family called for an investigation into her death because they did not think she committed suicide, and were concerned about how she was treated at the jail.

She complained of being sick and vomiting prior to her death.

The attorney representing Romero’s family, Matthew Pippin of Shelbyville, did not return calls for comment.

Franklin County Jailer Billy Roberts has not responded to questions of why Romero was in isolation or whether she had received medical treatment prior to her death. Roberts did not return calls for comment.

Though Romero was in the Franklin County jail, she was technically in federal custody after pleading guilty to immigration fraud.

On Aug. 22, the day she was pronounced dead, she was going to be transferred to ICE custody for deportation, ICE officials said.

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Franklin coroner asks for records in jail death

Published
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H-L Justice Team
on October 1, 2008
in Uncategorized
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By Valarie Honeycutt Spears
vhoneycutt@herald-leader.com

Franklin County Coroner Will Harrod plans to subpoena police records to help determine how a Salvadoran immigrant died at the Franklin County Regional Jail while awaiting deportation.

Ana Romero

Ana Romero

Harrod said Tuesday that he was called to the hospital, not the jail, so he was unable to investigate the scene where Ana Romero Rivera died.

Harrod says he will review state police records, photographs and interviews.

Romero, 44, had been placed in isolation for not eating just before her death, and a preliminary autopsy shows she died of asphyxia by hanging. Police are investigating the death as a suicide.

Harrod said that, in addition to police records, he is waiting for toxicology results and a final autopsy report.

Also this week, representatives with Immigration and Customs Enforcement revealed more information on the status of Romero’s deportation.

Though she was in the Franklin County jail, she was technically in the custody of U.S. marshals after pleading guilty to immigration fraud.

On Aug. 22, the day she was pronounced dead, she was going to be transferred to ICE custody for deportation.

ICE officials said via e-mail and in a phone interview that Romero would not have remained in the Franklin County jail. Once in ICE custody, she probably would have been transported to one of the four county jails in Illinois or southern Wisconsin that the Chicago ICE office uses.

Several factors would have played into deciding when she returned to El Salvador. Those include whether she would have waived the right to see an immigration judge, whether she had proper travel documents to return and the time of the next ICE-arranged flight to El Salvador.

Herald-Leader staff writer Steve Lannen contributed to this report.

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New information in the Ana Romero case

Published
by
Steve Lannen
on September 30, 2008
in U.S. District Court and Uncategorized
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An update from Franklin County Coroner Will Harrod who is trying to determine the cause and manner of death of a Salvadoran immigrant who was in the Franklin County Regional Jail waiting for deportation:

Harrod said Tuesday that because he was called to the Frankfort Regional Medical Center and therefore did not have a chance to investigate the Franklin County Jail scene that led to Ana Romero Rivera’s death, he will issue a coroner’s subpoena for Kentucky State Police records and any photographs KSP officers took at jail or the hospital.

Harrod said Tuesday he will review Kentucky State Police officers have interviewed at the Franklin County jail. Romero, 44, had been placed in isolation for not eating just prior to her death.

A preliminary autopsy report from the state chief medical examiner’s office shows that Romero died of asphyxia by hanging. Kentucky State Police officials are investigating the death as a suicide

According to a dispatch transcript from the Frankfort Police Department, obtained through an open records request, staff at the jail made a 911 call about 11:15 p.m. Aug. 21, requesting an ambulance for Romero because she was not breathing and a CPR unit was assisting. At 11:19 p.m., “jail staff advised she hung herself and was not breathing.”

The medical examiner’s report says the jail sent Romero to the Frankfort Regional Medical Center late Aug. 21. Harrod pronounced Romero dead about 2:40 a.m. Aug. 22.

Meanwhile, Franklin Commonwealth’s Attorney Larry Cleveland said last week that he will review the Kentucky State Police investigation to see whether further action is warranted. Cleveland has the power to ask a grand jury to investigate the death.

Members of Congress have recently demanded that more information be released about the deaths of at least 71 illegal immigrants who have died in U.S. custody since 2004 while awaiting deportation.

ICE officials responded to stories in the New York Times and Washington Post.

– Valarie Honeycutt Spears

What would have happened to Ana Romero had she not apparently committed suicide in the Franklin County jail?

Romero was in the Franklin jail, but technically in the custody of the U.S. Marshals after pleading guilty to immigration fraud. On Aug. 22, she was going to be transferred to ICE custody for deportation. She was found in an isolation cell on the night of Aug. 21.

It is impossible to say for sure what would have happened next, but spokespersons with Immigration and Customs Enforcement said via e-mail and in a phone interview that Romero would not have remained in the jail. Once in ICE custody, she probably would have been transported to one of the four county jails in Illinois or southern Wisconsin that the Chicago ICE office uses.

From there, it is hard to say how long it would have taken for Romero to be deported. Several factors such as whether she would have waived the right to see an immigration judge, whether she had proper travel documents to return to El Salvador and when the next ICE-arranged flight to El Salvador is scheduled.

– Steve Lannen

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