NEW BEDFORD WOMAN RAPED

Police: New Bedford woman raped early Saturday at waterfront

By Brian Fraga
Standard-Times staff writer
June 05, 2007 6:00 AM

NEW BEDFORD — A city man is charged with being part of a group of men who forced a 37-year-old woman into a pickup truck and raped her.
Police arrested Douglas A. Lopez, 29, of 587 S. Second St. after the victim picked him out of a photo lineup Sunday. Police also seized a pickup truck owned by Mr. Lopez.
The victim told police that Mr. Lopez and several other men approached her while she was walking in the area of South Second and Blackmer streets around 2 a.m. Saturday.
She said the men forced her into the truck, drove her to the waterfront and threatened to kill her unless she had sex with them. Court records said the men kicked and punched the victim and tore at her clothes.
Mr. Lopez, who was arrested in February and charged with a home invasion in which he allegedly threatened to kill his wife with a machete, was arraigned Monday in 3rd District Court.
Judge David T. Turcotte revoked Mr. Lopez's bail on the home invasion case Monday, requiring that he be incarcerated until that case is resolved. He set $100,000 cash bail on the new charges.
Court records indicated that Mr. Lopez's previous bail was revoked because of the "horrendous facts" of the new charges against him, the seriousness of his previous case and questions regarding his immigration status.
Mr. Lopez might have immigrated from El Salvador, according to court documents.
He is charged with kidnapping, assault with intent to rape, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He is scheduled to appear in court Friday for a pretrial hearing.
The New Bedford Police Sexual Assault Unit is looking for the other suspects involved. It was not known Monday how many suspects were being sought.
Mr. Lopez was arraigned Feb. 26 on charges of home invasion, assault and threatening, in which he allegedly entered his estranged wife's New Bedford apartment brandishing a machete.
He allegedly held his wife's friend, who was staying in the apartment, by the throat in one hand and held the machete to her throat with the other.
A police report said Mr. Lopez told his wife he would kill her unless she left with him.
Judge Turcotte set a July 27 trial date for Mr. Lopez's home invasion case.
Contact Brian Fraga at bfraga@s-t.com

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070605/NEWS/706050376/1011/TOWN10

JON FIALA

Man gets 11 years in DUI
By BRANDON COUTRE - bcoutre@nwherald.com

WOODSTOCK – A Huntley man sentenced to 11 years in prison on Tuesday apologized for killing a 48-year-old motorcyclist last year in a drunken-driving crash.“I’m sorry to the family,” Lorenzo Alvarez, 29, said through a Spanish interpreter. “I just want to apologize for the accident.”Alvarez on Tuesday pleaded guilty to aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison.In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped charges alleging that he fled the scene of the May 21, 2006, accident that killed Jon Fiala, also of Huntley.About 15 of Fiala’s family members watched the court proceedings.“Life [in prison] would have been good, but you got to take what you could get,” Fiala’s ex-wife, Patti Fiala, said of the sentence.Prosecutors said Alvarez had a blood-alcohol content of 0.254 when he was found about three hours after the crash, which is more than three times the legal limit for driving.“[Alvarez] had been drinking at his house, then went to some sort of drinking establishment and had more,” McHenry County State’s Attorney Louis Bianchi said. “I hope it sends a message to the community … that we need to stop losing lives on the highway.”The crash, which happened in the 4600 block of Dean Street in Woodstock, instantly killed Fiala, who was driving a 1980 Harley-Davidson motorcycle. His body was dragged along with the car before he was thrown into a nearby driveway, police said.Alvarez, who was driving a car borrowed from a friend, fled the scene of the crash into a wooded area, prosecutors said.He was found a few hours later after a search assisted by police dogs and a police helicopter.Alvarez, who is not a U.S. citizen, likely will be deported after he completes his prison term, prosecutors said.Since he was charged, Alvarez remained at the McHenry County Jail on $1 million bond. A judge set a high bond to prevent him from fleeing the country while awaiting trial.

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/05/24/news/local/doc4653c912209fd971888064.txt

GENEROSA EDWARDS

Fatal wreck leads to 15-year sentence
By MELODY McDONALD
Star-Telegram staff writer

Fort Worth -- A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for driving drunk and slamming his pickup into the back of a stopped car, killing a woman, last year.
Lorenzo Aguilar pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter several months ago for the August 12, 2006, death of Generosa Edwards. On Friday, state District Judge George Gallagher passed sentence after reviewing an investigation report and hearing from both sides.
Because Aguilar is an illegal immigrant, he will be deported after he serves his time.
"The national events of the day, with border security, were brought home in this case," prosecutor Miles Brissette said "Had this defendant not been in this country illegally, the victim in this case would still be alive today, most likely."
J. Steven Bush, Aguilar's attorney, acknowledged that his client was an illegal immigrant but said he had no criminal record and worked hard to take care of his family.
Bush said intoxication manslaughter cases are very emotional.
"It's a wide range of punishment, from two to 20 years," Bush said.
"Judges have to make the very tough calls. It is not an easy job. That is why Judge Gallagher is the judge -- and I'm a defense lawyer."
Bush and Brissette said they believe that one reason for the 15-year sentence is that Aguilar said he had pulled over because he was realized he was too intoxicated to drive but later got back on the road.
Edwards, 35, was seated in her Ford Mustang about 2 a.m. on the shoulder of southbound Texas 121 at Beach Street, waiting for a friend to arrive to help her change her tire, when Aguilar's Ford F-150 slammed into the back of her car.
Officials said that the Mustang was engulfed in flames and that bystanders could not rescue Edwards. They freed Aguilar after his truck also caught fire.
Edwards had a husband, who is a retired Air Force sergeant, and a young son.
"It was the first Mother's Day without his mom, and it was tough," Brissette said.
mjmcdonald@star-telegram.comMelody McDonald, 817-390-7386

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/111835.html

Albertville Police Arrest 3 in Prostitution Sting

A 4 month long investigation in Albertville has led to three arrests, and the breakup of a suspected prostitution ring.
Authorities raided the Greenwood Village Trailer Park Tuesday afternoon, and arrested Leida Zapata, Olga Martel-Carrera and Francisco Perez (pictured). The two women are charged with prostitution. Perez faces charges of promoting prostitution. More than one thousand dollars in cash was seized during the raids. Immigration officials have been called in to assist in the investigation.
posted Wed May 30 17:49:59 2007

http://www.waaytv.com/cgi-bin/shownews.cgi?id=4052

HE WAS JUST AFRAID OF THE POLICE

Man Charged With Attempted Murder of Huntsville Police Officer

Huntsville Police have charged a 23 year old illegal immigrant with attempted murder and resisting arrest.
According to police reports, officers were looking in to suspected drug activity at a home on Jamison Drive late Monday night. One officer approached a car parked in front of the home and attempted to speak with the driver. The driver refused to cooperate, and then put the car in gear. The police report indicates the officer was struck in the leg as the driver fled.
After a brief chase and scuffle with police, Zandoval was taken in to custody. Police Spokesman Wendell Johnson said Zandoval told officers he was an illegal alien from Mexico and was afraid of the police. Johnson also says Zandoval had existing warrants for Driving without a License, Violation of the Mandatory Vehicle Insurance and two Counts of Failure to Appear in Court.
posted Tue May 22 18:07:28 2007

http://www.waaytv.com/cgi-bin/shownews.cgi?id=4023

ANOTHER CRASH INTO A HOME KNOCKS COUPLE OUT OF BED, 2-YEAR-OLD ESCAPES INJURY

Published: 05.23.2007
Man who crashed SUV into home identified
Tucson Citizen

A man who bailed out of a moving SUV, leaving it to crash into a Tucson home, has been identified as a Mexican citizen from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, a Pima County sheriff's spokeswoman said.
Hugo A. Estrada, 30, was booked into jail May 15 as "John Doe," Deputy Dawn Barkman said. Charges against him include aggravated assault, endangerment and fleeing from a law enforcement officer. Jail corrections officers were credited in determining Estrada's identity and his residency in the border city just south of El Paso, Texas.
Barkman said Estrada was in the United States illegally. A corrections officer said Estrada is being held without bail, noting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold order on him.
Barkman said after the crash that the Chevrolet Suburban Estrada drove had been stolen, but detectives have been unable to confirm who owns it. The plates on the SUV belonged to another vehicle, and the vehicle identification number could not be traced in a state database.
A deputy saw the Suburban go through a stop sign at West Avra Valley and North Trico roads about 3:30 a.m., Barkman said.
When he turned on the emergency lights and siren for a traffic stop, the driver fled, she said.
About six miles away, at West Manville Road near North Coues Deer Lane, the SUV slowed to 5 to 10 mph, and the driver jumped out and ran. The deputy caught him on foot, Barkman said.
The Suburban crashed through a bedroom wall of a home on Coues Deer in which a couple and their 2-year-old daughter were asleep.
The SUV hit a bed, knocking the man and woman to the floor, but no one in the home was injured. The family was not identified.
DAVID L. TEIBEL

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/local/52359.php

HOUSTON SERIAL RAPIST

Teenaged illegal immigrant denies role in string of sex assaults
10:46 AM CDT on Monday, May 28, 2007
Associated Press

HOUSTON -- An 18-year-old illegal immigrant denied he committed a string of attacks on females on the city’s north side, though police said his fingerprints were found where two of the crimes occurred.
Edgar San Miguel, who is from Mexico, was arrested May 20 and charged with burglary with intent to commit sexual assault. He was being held in the Harris County jail on $100,000 bail.
In a jailhouse interview with the Houston Chronicle on Saturday, San Miguel denied being the predator who Houston police said is believed to have entered at least 10 homes. In many cases, police said the attacker climbed into bed with girls or women and masturbated while fondling them.
Police lifted San Miguel’s fingerprints from windows at the home where the first attack allegedly occurred on Jan. 13 and from the home of another attack on May 18, said investigator Pedro Moreno of the homicide division’s sex crimes unit.
Three attacks have occurred since San Miguel’s arrest, and appear unrelated to the other incidents, Moreno said. Moreno said San Miguel has refused to answer questions about other cases.
Police have collected DNA samples from some of the incidents and are investigating whether they are connected or might be the work of copycats, Moreno said.
San Miguel admitted in the interview with the newspaper that he broke into the first home, but he said he did not try to assault the 24-year-old woman who lives there.
The woman has identified San Miguel as her attacker.
She said she was awakened that night by a friend who needed a
ride home. When she returned about 2:30 a.m., her attacker jumped out from behind her kitchen table, she said.
The woman said the attacker appeared drunk, spouted vulgarities at her in Spanish and threw her to the floor and onto a coffee table while trying to take off her clothes. After she fought off the attacker and jumped over her couch, he ran away, she said.
The woman said she saw San Miguel on May 20 as he walked along a nearby street. She called police and identified him as the attacker, and he was arrested.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou070528_tnt_sexpred.1b08c615.html