Police Beat: Police arrest four alleged illegal immigrants at check point

Posted by Howard Owens on May 25, 2009 - 6:35am
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Four alleged illegal immigrants from Guatemala were apprehended by Batavia police at a Bank Street DWI check point Friday night.

One of the men arrested, Edwin O. Perez-Hernandez, 36, of Varysburg, allegedly tried to flee the scene on foot and faces a resisting arrest charge. He is held on $2,500 bail.

Oscar U. Perez-Hernandez was reportedly the driver of the vehicle and faces numerous traffic violation charges, according to police. He is held on $1,000 bail.

Two women in the vehicle were issued appearance tickets for immigration court.

James F. Kempisty, 48, of Batavia, drove through a DWI check point on Bank Street Friday night around 10:30 and BPD officers determined that he was apparently intoxicated. He was charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Kempisty was issued an appearance ticket and released.

Dustin R. Collinge, 24, of Wheatland, faces two felony counts following a traffic stop in Stafford early Sunday morning. Collinge is charged with DWI and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Collinge reportedly has a prior DWI conviction. He is accused of driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Collinge was released pending arraignment.

Keith Whitney, 21, of Churchville, is charged with two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon and a misdemeanor count of menacing following an alleged domestic dispute with his girlfriend in Bergen early Sunday morning. Whitney allegedly brandished an assault rifle "with the intent to use it against his girlfriend," according Sheriff's deputies. He is being held on $5,000 bail.

Robert Brown, 47, of Darien, is accused of pushing an acquaintance to the floor.  He is charged with harassment in the second degree.

Richard Synder, 43, of Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana following a traffic stop for allegedly speeding in Elba. Snyder was issued an appearance ticket and released.

Erick R. Horning, 19, of Batavia, is accused of hosting an under-age drinking party at his house on Wilkenson Road early Saturday morning. Horning was charged with unlawful dealing with a child, issued a ticket and released.

Robert  Piechocki, 45, of Attica, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon. Deputies allegedly found six unregistered pistols in his residence while investigating a reported domestic incident.

Posted by Mark Potwora on May 25, 2009 - 5:04pm
Two women in the vehicle were issued appearance tickets for immigration court.Why would they let them go if they are here illegal..You wonder why there is a immigration problem
here..
they should be deported ,end of story...should be no bail for the others,send them back ....
Posted by John Roach on May 25, 2009 - 5:22pm
If they are illegal, what are the odds they will show up for court?
Posted by Bea McManis on May 25, 2009 - 5:31pm
Posted by Mark Potwora on May 25, 2009 - 6:04pm
Two women in the vehicle were issued appearance tickets for immigration court.Why would they let them go if they are here illegal..You wonder why there is a immigration problem
here..
they should be deported ,end of story...should be no bail for the others,send them back ....

Just guessing, but maybe they were asked for papers and didn't have them. That doesn't mean they are illegals, they just didn't have documentation on their person.
The key word is "alledged".
There was no mention of the other man in the car. The driver had outstanding warrents. Does that mean that the rest are guilty by association and should be arrested and deported without due process?
I'm not defending illegals. I'm just thinking that the officers followed procedure when issuing the others appearance tickets.
Posted by Russ Stresing on May 25, 2009 - 5:54pm
Posted by Mark Potwora on May 25, 2009 - 6:04pm

Two women in the vehicle were issued appearance tickets for immigration court.Why would they let them go if they are here illegal..You wonder why there is a immigration problem
here..
they should be deported ,end of story...should be no bail for the others,send them back ....

Nothing short of a CAT scan can explain the origin of a conclusion so deprived of logic or basis in the Constitution.
Posted by Mark Potwora on May 25, 2009 - 9:31pm
Good one Russ..Whats wrong with my logic..If they are here illegally send them back..What, our government doesn't know who is illegal..They can access a computer and find out what their status it..Just let them go..Show up at immigration court.If they are illegal they won't be there...Who needs the CAT scan..The Constitution is for legal US citizens...If they were alleged to of committed a crime would they be issued a ticket.. i though is was a felony to be here illegally..
Posted by Howard Owens on May 26, 2009 - 2:34am
Since the Constitution was founded on the theory of natural rights, i.e., God-given, then the rights it guarantees applies to more than just U.S. citizens, but all of God's children. All men are created equal ... accused illegal immigrants have a right to due process.

Further, what if you were arrested and you didn't have identification on you and some INS agent was feeling frisky and wanted to get his quota for the week and decided to deport you, wouldn't you want due process? The fact that there is due process protects U.S. citizens from such abuses and makes such abuses less likely.

That said, I think it is a little screwy that these women would issued appearance tickets rather than being held until their appearances.
Posted by Karen Miconi on May 26, 2009 - 7:53am
Illegals wandering about, in the US with not papers is more common than we realize. The women and children, for the most part are just looking for a better life. The men too for the most part are also wanting to stay in the US for work. There are some though who are criminals, and need to be deported asap. Being from the Byron, Elba, area, I have seen the trouble these guys get into first hand. Some, steal cars, property, drive around drinking in cars with no license, and are a threat to the communities they live in.
I believe their needs to be better border control, and local enforcement, to catch the ones here illegally, and due more random checks on the farms they live on. Granted the local farmers have them work for peanuts, not being able to pay a higher wage, due to the economy. I just think officials need more help with this.
Posted by Chris Olin on May 26, 2009 - 8:37am
I'm simply going to point out this is New York. It's not like we're touching the Mexican border. Just because someone is Mexican doesn't necessarily make them illegal.
Posted by Mark Potwora on May 26, 2009 - 8:58am
The headline states Police arrest four alleged illegal immigrants .Four some reason the Police seem to think that they could be illegal, then why release them without finding out their status...Common sense tells me that if they are here illegal they will never show up for court...We have a INS prison right here in Batavia,why not turn these people over to them so they could find out if they are illegal...
Posted by Bea McManis on May 26, 2009 - 9:09am
If we are going to split hairs:
apprehend
Verb
1. to arrest and take into custody
If this is the case, then they were in custody and, perhaps, since they weren't arrested, there wasn't enough to hold them.
I guess we will just have to wait for the outcome.
I agree, that if they ARE here illegally, the chances of them appearing in court are slim to none.
Posted by John Woodworth JR on May 31, 2009 - 12:22am
Are they illegal or legal? If the officer is uncertain of the status of individual and their nationality. Then as an officer we should of notified the local INS facility and asked for their assistance in identifing any individual in question. These women may have no identification. Every American should have some sort of official photo identification. You may not drive, but do you visit bars, buy tobacco products or alcohol at the supermarket, cross the Canadian or Mexican borders? As a American Soldier I know our borders are weak. Heck, remember the Border Patrol Officers arrested for shooting a known drug dealer who was illegally crossing our border. Personally my way of dealing with this issue is making our borders a mine field and a weapons range for our military. I know my family came from the old world, but at least they went through legal means. Blame our border and civil rights issues on the Liberal Democrats who worry about the rights and feeling of the minority rather than the majority; the rights of a criminal rather than the rights of the victim; the rights of the non-believers rather than the believers. The ACLU is a evil group, but are able to get things accomplished, because the common citizen is blind or figures things will work out. Why as a American should I state the Pledge of Allegiance without acknowledging, " One Nation Under GOD!" Why does the Supreme Court tell State and Local Courts to remove the 10 Commandments out of their courtroom when the Supreme Court is designed with them? The official answer given is that we need to remove religion from the schools, state and federal government. These are not religious statements, these are historical and moral facts. Wow America WAKE UP and look around you! Time to have your voices heard!