Illegal immigrant gets 11/2 years for theft

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2006/07/08/local_news/news5.txt

By Jonathan Clark

Herald/Review

BISBEE — A Mexican man who entered the county illegally and stole approximately $1,500 in property from a Hereford residence was sentenced Friday in Cochise County Superior Court to 1 1/2 years in prison.

Francisco Bermudez-Padilla, 27, of Cananea, Sonora, had previously entered a guilty plea on one count of theft on June 20.

On Friday, Bermudez-Padilla’s attorney, Christopher Lewis, asked for a sentence of probation on the grounds that his client had no prior criminal record in the United States and because the stolen items had been returned to the victim.

But Judge Tom Collins noted that Bermudez-Padilla had entered the country illegally, possessed marijuana at the time of his arrest, and had possibly been acting as a guide for a group of 30 other migrants. He denied the request for probation and gave the defendant the presumptive sentence for the Class 5 felony.

According to court records, Bermudez-Padilla was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol in Hereford on May 6 along with six other illegal immigrants. When the agents noticed that Bermudez-Padilla was carrying two black bags filled with items that did not appear to belong to him, they called the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office.

Bermudez-Padilla apparently told the reporting deputies that he had separated from his group and broke into a residence in search of food and water. Once inside, however, it became “easy” to steal items including jewelry, binoculars and coins.

The agents and deputies also found a small baggie of marijuana in the defendant’s pocket.

A pre-sentence report filed with the court by the adult probation department noted that Bermudez-Padilla told Border Patrol agents that he guided a group of 30 illegal immigrants from the border to the Coronado National Memorial. However, during a pre-sentence interview, he said he joined the group en route to Tucson.

The report concluded that the defendant likely guided a group of illegals from the border to the Coronado National Memorial and was on his way back to Mexico when he committed the crime.

herald/review reporter Jonathan Clark can be reached at 515-4693 or by e-mail at jonathan.clark@bisbeereview.net.