Immigrant charged in deadly crash expected to plead guilty

[brentspeak]

Source: The Tennessean

Sunday, 04/08/07
Immigrant charged in deadly crash expected to plead guilty
Incident sparked new focus on illegal immigration, officials say

By SHEILA BURKE
Staff Writer

By pleading guilty as expected today in a Nashville courtroom, Gustavo Reyes Garcia could end the criminal case stemming from charges that his drunken driving killed two people last year.

But the court appearance is unlikely to sate the firestorm of hostility toward illegal immigrants that galvanized after his June 8, 2006, wreck on Old Hickory Boulevard.


Garcia, 29, is charged with driving drunk when his SUV slammed head-on into a sedan driven by a Mt. Juliet couple, killing them both.

After the crash, authorities revealed that Garcia — a citizen of Mexico in the U.S. illegally — had been arrested at least 14 times before, including four times for driving drunk.

Read more: http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070408/NEWS03/70408011

[uppityperson]

1. Incident should spark new focus on how DUIs/assaults are handled. Improperly with this guy.

"Besides the DUI cases, he had been charged with domestic assault, leaving the scenes of accidents, driving on a revoked or suspended license, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, theft, failing to have insurance and driving with an open container."

"Lee says he pulled over the SUV. Garcia, he would later testify, appeared drunk and there were several bottles and cans of beer in the truck.

But before he could be arrested, Garcia sped away and crashed into a blue Oldsmobile, authorities said. The SUV then crossed Old Hickory Boulevard and collided with a silver Buick."



Why the hell wasn't he in rehab/prison/etc? Why can you have another DUI, all this and still be out walking around? How could he get away, being pulled over for DUI and "sped away"?

[NormanYorkstein]

4. why not deported?

Our prisons are overcrowded as it is now, should we build more?

[DBoon]

2. and of course this would all be OK if it was an American citizen?

I don't understand why the issue is his legal status as an immigrant. Would it NOT be an issue if a native born citizen had a similar record?

[barb162]

3. It's NOT okay in either situation. If the guy had been returned

to whereever he came from, though, there's be two American citizens alive right now.

[bluestateguy]

5. This case is about drunk driving, not immigration

And I have so sympathy for drunk drivers. He should be warehoused for life. If he refuses to plead guilty, then the death penalty should be pursued for his murders.

[southerncrone]

6. Actually, this case is about both.

Had he been a American citizen, he would have been prosecuted much earlier for his crimes. We treat illegal aliens with kid gloves. Even if he had been deported, he could just come back across the border again & again.

Until we negotiate a SERIOUS immigration treaty with Mexico, this type of thing will be happening again & again all over the country.

NAFTA was supposed to raise Mexican standards, not lower ours. Just the opposite has happened. We are suffering for Mexico not keeping up their end of the bargain.
Unfortunately, corporate America is so invested in the cheap wages of Mexico, it makes it virtually impossible to force Mexico's hand on this. x(