Sheriff: Brown-Waite's Call For Arrest Probe Political, 'Naive'

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite's call for a federal probe received a curt reply from the Hillsborough sheriff's office.

TAMPA - Politically motivated and naive is how Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee described a congresswoman's call for a federal investigation after last week's arrest of a Mexican national in rape cases.

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite said Sunday that she wants a review of the interactions between local law enforcement and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in connection with the arrest of Rigoberto Moron Martinez.

Investigators said that Martinez, 20, was responsible in the Aug. 15 attack at The Docks restaurant in Apollo Beach as well as two attacks in July in Hillsborough County and a sexual attack Aug. 3 at a St. Petersburg restaurant.

Before the Aug. 15 assaults, Martinez was jailed in Hillsborough County and released Aug. 6. He is an illegal immigrant, according to law enforcement. Deputies think Martinez's resident alien card is forged.

"Rep. Brown-Waite's demand for a federal investigation will focus on the interactions (or lack thereof) between Hillsborough County law enforcement and ICE surrounding the arrests and releases of alleged serial rapist and illegal immigrant Rigoberto Moron Martinez…," according to a Brown-Waite news release.

Brown-Waite said illegal immigrants who commit crimes should be removed from the United States.

She sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill, saying action should have been taken to make sure Martinez wasn't set free. She asked the U.S. attorney's office to determine whether federal laws were violated or ignored.

A directive from the Department of Justice says that whenever there's a congressional inquiry, the matter must be sent to the congressional affairs office, which must respond, O'Neill said.

Gee said today that jail officials contacted the immigration agency during Martinez's booking Aug. 5, and the agency immediately sent an automated response confirming it had received the information.

There was nothing more the jail could do except wait for immigration officials to act, Gee said.

Brown-Waite's comments are off the mark, Gee said, adding that open borders are the problem, not his department's jails or an overwhelmed immigration agency.

"I think we do the best we can with the resources that we have," ICE spokesman Ivan Ortiz said.

In any given year, Gee said, about 75,000 people pass through Hillsborough jails, and roughly 10 percent potentially are illegal immigrants. He said immigration officials take action on only a small percentage of that group.

Immigration officials give priority to cases involving people who pose national security and public safety threats, including child sex offenders and those with convictions for violent crimes, according to the immigration agency's Web site.

Before Martinez was charged with committing sex crimes, investigators with St. Petersburg's special investigative unit - who have jurisdiction statewide - decided to put Martinez under surveillance. Soon after, detectives arrested Martinez on a warrant accusing him of violating a domestic violence restraining order.

One reason for the Aug. 5 Hillsborough arrest was to obtain a DNA sample from Martinez to compare to DNA evidence collected after the St. Petersburg rape, St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman Bill Proffitt said.

Gee said today his office was not aware St. Petersburg considered Martinez a rape suspect at that point.

After Martinez was released from jail, he attacked the two Apollo Beach women, investigators have said.

On Aug. 5, the sheriff's office did talk to about Martinez with the Law Enforcement Support Center, which is part of the immigration department, Ortiz said. The office sought assistance in determining Martinez's immigration status and history.

"At the time, the person did not have a felony conviction and was not considered a criminal and therefore was considered a low-priority case," Ortiz said. "He did not represent a threat."

Brown-Waite she said she wants to know whether immigration officials aren't responding to local law enforcement in regard to illegal immigrants.

The congresswoman's news release stated that several Florida women's lives "have been permanently scarred by these brutal rapes; events that could have been avoided if Hillsborough County had followed the law, reported this illegal immigrant to federal authorities and held him for trial and deportation. It is clear to me that we need a federal investigation of the events surrounding the arrest and release of this man, and if warranted, new leadership at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office."

Gee said Brown-Waite's words sound as though they come from someone running for office.

In a statement e-mailed this morning to The Tampa Tribune, the sheriff's office said: "Congresswoman Brown-Waite may have been better served getting answers to her questions before attempting to gain political traction at the expense of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. While she awaits our response, perhaps this elected official can ask herself where she failed as a member of Congress to secure our borders and enact meaningful legislation on immigration issues."

Deputies don't have access to federal immigration records and have no way of verifying someone's immigration status, sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway said. However, deputies send lists of foreign-born inmates to immigration officials on a daily basis, he said.

Jose Walle, 13, of Wimauma, and Vicente Reyes-Carbajal, 20, of Ruskin, also were involved in some of the incidents, investigators said. Like Martinez, they are illegal immigrants, Ortiz said.

"Unfortunately for the lives of the women raped by this illegal immigrant ringleader and his two accomplices, it appears that some area law enforcement officials may not have had the proper training and tools to work with ICE and federal officials," Brown-Waite wrote.

"Hopefully, a federal investigation will identify the areas where Hillsborough County, St. Petersburg and ICE dropped the ball with identifying and deporting this man, and we can all work together to find ways to ensure that it won't happen again."

Gee, a Republican, is a delegate for U.S. presidential candidate John McCain. He is up for election this year but is running unopposed.

Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, is seeking re-election to Florida's 5th Congressional District, which includes all of Hernando, Citrus and Sumter counties and parts of Pasco, Polk, Lake, Levy and Marion counties.

As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, she has worked with local sheriffs to make sure they have training and resources to help identify illegal immigrants, according to the release.

Brown-Waite included in the news release an immigration-related questionnaire she sent to several law enforcement agencies. In the first question, Brown-Waite asks whether officers ask suspects whether they are illegal immigrants.

"This is the most naive questionnaire that I have ever read in my life," Gee said.

Well, two things. First, the Sheriff’s office did apparently report Moron to the immigration authorities, and they did nothing.

Second, this guy has apparently been involved in multiple rapes. He is a serious repeat offender. So, who was responsible for letting him go? A typical Florida judge?

Finally, the sheriff is right on another point. Build the wall. Keep these guys OUT. What would have been the point of sending him back to Mexico, if he turned around and came back in the next day?

I figure it costs millions to put someone away for life in our jail system. So if you have serious illegal criminals like this, it’s a major burden on the tax system, no matter what.

Better to spend millions that to set criminals loose to rape more victims. But better still to find a practical solution, like executing repeat rapists, or BUILDING A WALL TO KEEP THEM OUT.

I would add that whoever employed this guy should also be prosecuted. You won’t keep all of the illegals out until you make people pay a penalty for employing them.

Whoever was paying this guy and making it possible for him to remain in the country bears at least a part of the responsibility.

“Well, two things. First, the Sheriff’s office did apparently report Moron to the immigration authorities, and they did nothing.”

That's typical. That's the way it works. ICE will know about these people in the jail. In fact the jail will put an “ICE hold” on them and not release them except to ICE. But when the State is done with the person, or the person posts a bond on his State charges, ICE has 48 hours to come and get them. Typically ICE will say they don't have anyone to send or anywhere to to put these people so the jail will release them.

“Second, this guy has apparently been involved in multiple rapes. He is a serious repeat offender. So, who was responsible for letting him go? A typical Florida judge?”

According to the article they didn't know when they released him that he was a rape suspect.

“What would have been the point of sending him back to Mexico, if he turned around and came back in the next day?”

Something they are doing now is charging people for illegal reentry. People like this with serious crimes on their record are looking at up to 20 years with no parole just for coming back into our country. They are charging record numbers of people for this now. I hope they keep doing this and step it up and charge even more people to send the message that it is definitely not okay to just turn around and come back after being deported.

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