Liberal Forum

Z09 » 21 Sep 2023, 5:52 am » wrote: ↑

21 Sep 2023, 5:52 am

My question...

Why didn't this guy get deported ?

Z09 » 21 Sep 2023, 5:49 am » wrote: ↑

21 Sep 2023, 5:49 am

The fact that an illegal immigrant failed to show up to court for allegedly trying to scam a Westport couple out of $6,000 should come “as no surprise” to anyone, according to Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn III.Hector Arias-Guzman, 28, of Boston, has been free since immediately posting a $4,000 cash bail that Fall River Judge Thomas Barrett set in August during an arraignment on attempted larceny and conspiracy charges.A pretrial hearing had been scheduled on Tuesday, but Arias-Guzman did not show up to Fall River District Court, said Quinn, who blasted Barrett for letting the illegal immigrant off too easy.The judge declined a request from Assistant District Attorney Nicole Cheney to hold the defendant in jail on $25,000 cash bail during the August arraignment, before he set it at $4,000.Customs and Border Protection apprehended Arias-Guzman in January for entering the United States illegally via the Del Rio area of Texas, authorities say.“The defendant’s failure to appear in court comes as no surprise,” Quinn said in a statement. “Based on his immigration status, he clearly was a flight risk who had no ties to this community.  As I indicated previously, the bail set in this case was clearly too low to assure his appearance.  The defendant now is at large and has the opportunity to prey on other innocent individuals.”Arias-Guzman, authorities say, called a Westport couple and fraudulently identified himself as their son who needed cash for bond after being arrested following a motor vehicle crash in Boston, according to a report from Westport police. If his “parents” didn’t deliver the money, he’d be immediately jailed, the report states.The couple declined cash payment requests of $10,000 and $25,000 from a man, who Arias-Guzman put on the phone, identified as a public defender. However, through negotiations, the couple agreed on $6,000, an amount the caller claimed was needed to post bail, according to the report.Westport Police Det. Sgt. Bryan McCarthy recognized the name given as the public defender, as well as the cell number, from a previous scam the week prior, when he spoke with the couple.“(McCarthy) instructed the couple to return home and to call back if the fraudster called back with instructions for the money delivery,” the report states. “The fraudster did call back with instructions on how to package the cash and advised that a LYFT driver would be arriving to collect the money for delivery to Boston.”That led McCarthy to assemble a surveillance team, consisting of detectives from area departments, that followed the LYFT driver to an address in Taunton.Upon arrival, police spotted Arias-Guzman approaching the vehicle to take possession of the package. McCarthy and other officers in plain clothes chased Arias-Guzman down when the suspect noticed their presence and tried to flee on foot, the report states.“Our request for $25,000 cash bail was appropriate,” Quinn said in an August statement. “This is another example of what is occurring throughout our state and the country. Victims often do not report these types of attempted scams to police. We all need to be very vigilant to the scam artists who are trying to rip off law-abiding citizens of their hard earned money.”

https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/09/20 ... -to-court/