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Posted on 10/09/2003 8:38:46 AM PDT by AZ GRAMMY
Hoffman, Dumas sentenced to jail
BY LOREN LISTIAK, Staff Writer Oct 9, 2003
Two men who used handguns and handcuffs to detain a group of illegal immigrants near Gadsden were sentenced to jail Wednesday by a judge who said their actions were not only against the law but misguided and un-American.
Yuma County Superior Court Judge Andrew Gould sentenced Matthew Hoffman to 120 days in jail with credit for 17 days he served after his arrest for detaining the group. Alexander Dumas, meanwhile, was given a 30-day jail term with credit for 16 days served.
Gould also placed both men on probation for three years, warning them that if they violate the terms of their probation, they could be sentenced to prison.
"This case is not about protecting the American border," Gould said before sentencing Hoffman, 23, and Dumas, 26. "This case is about a criminal act."
Two of the immigrants detained in the July 31 incident near County 18 Street and the Colorado River were women, while the four others were minors ranging in age from 8 to 17.
Noting that the 8-year-old was among the handcuffed minors, Gould told the defendants that their actions were not what the United States is about. The judge said Americans believe in treasuring, valuing and protecting children, no matter their nationality.
"Don't go wrapping yourself in an American flag," Gould told the defendants.
Gould also noted pistols may or may not have been pointed at the victims, but it was certain that guns were brandished by the defendants during the incident.
During mitigation hearings on Oct. 3 and Tuesday, both defendants said when they ran across the group, the women and children were already on the ground in an apparent attempt to hide from them.
The two women and three of the children were then handcuffed while they were still on the ground, according to testimony. The other child wasn't handcuffed because Dumas and Hoffman had only five pairs of handcuffs, Dumas said in his mitigation hearing.
Dumas said when Hoffman started handcuffing the children, he had doubts they were doing the right thing. Twice he tried to convince Hoffman to let the group go, but Hoffman refused, according to Dumas.
Gould said one of the mitigating factors — factors supporting a lighter sentence — for Dumas was his attempt to stop Hoffman from handcuffing the children. The judge also said Dumas played a lesser role than Hoffman in the incident.
"You were the organizer," Gould told Hoffman.
The judge described the incident as "misguided," even if the defendants, at the time, thought the act was legal. Gould added that what Hoffman and Dumas did wasn't legal.
Dumas and Hoffman were each initially charged with six counts of aggravated assault, five of unlawful imprisonment and one of conspiracy to commit unlawful imprisonment. Most of the charges were dropped in return for each defendant pleading guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit unlawful imprisonment.
Hoffman's brother, Martin, also was arrested in the incident, but has pleaded innocent to the same 12 counts.
--- Loren Listiak can be reached at llistiak@yumasun.com or 539-6857.
Alexander Dumas, 26, is escorted by Yuma County Sheriff's Office deputies to the Yuma County Adult Detention Center on Wednesday after he was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years' probation. Matthew Hoffman, 23, was sentenced to 120 days in jail and three years' probation. Both will get credit for time served. Sun photo by Louie Villalobos.
Alexander Dumas, 26 (top), and Matthew Hoffman, 23 (above) are escorted by Yuma County Sheriff's Office deputies to the Yuma County Adult Detention Center on Wednesday after they were sentenced for their roles in the July 31 detention of six illegal immigrants. Sun photo by Louie Villalobos.
Alexander Dumas (from left), his lawyer Jon Ballos, Matthew Hoffman and his lawyer James Tilson, appear before Superior Court Judge Andrew Gould on Wednesday morning for sentencing. Sun photo by Charles Whitehouse.
Yuma County Superior Court Judge Andrew Gould speaks to Alexander Dumas and Matthew Hoffman during the two men's sentencing Wednesday morning. Sun photo by Charles Whitehouse.
http://yumasun.com/artman/publish/articles/story_7640.shtml
Who the heck carries around five pairs of handcuffs? Were these guys off-duty police? If not, and they're patrolling the desert looking for illegal crossers, I'm all for it but, hey! Find out whether or not it's legal first! Sheesh.
How can stopping criminals in the process of committing a crime be considered criminal behavior?
Welcome to the topsy turvy American legal racket.
Cordially,
Following your logic, the next time I see a crime being committed...a mugging or perhaps a rape...I'll just keep walking and ignore it since I'm not sure "...whether or not it is legal for me to interfere".
Part of the answer is because laws are now written so that they generate the highest amount of dollars going to lawyers (demoncRATS/Clinton scum-like peoples). Laws aren't written to make sense...
Glad to hear you guys say this, thought I was the only one thinking that way. Seems like what we have is not a justice system but a justice industry in which we are the raw materials.
Yes, and BIG LAWYER is more deadly and has more lobbying power than Big Tobackie. DemoncRATs fight tort reform like it's going to kill them. Which, I guess it would, since demoncRATs depend so heavily on donations from Big Lawyer.
I generally don't carry five sets of handcuffs and go tooling around in the middle of the desert hoping a rape will happen, though. I'm thinking these guys were looking for an instance of border-incursion. Again, I'm not against that, I just think if you're obviously on the lookout for this type of crime, and go to the trouble of equipping yourself to handle it-- you might want to stop and consider whether or not you're going to get thrown in jail afterward.
Well guys its been over a year. Wonder how the boys are doing now. They had the right arm of the law sentenced. Any thoughts? I know them both personally.
Sorry to say, they still remind me of the people I grew up with in South Dakota who believed that, if you could just make it into town, that Highway Patrol car chasing you wouldn't be able to pull you over. Another pleasant myth that you can sit around and discuss in jail.
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