SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Latest on a young immigrant charged with murder (all times local):
5:45 p.m.
Federal immigration authorities say a suspect in the slaying of a popular San Francisco community activist had a monitoring device removed from his ankle four days after the killing.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday that its contractor received a tampering alert on Aug. 19 that 18-year-old Erick Garcia-Pineda’s ankle bracelet was off. It says authorities couldn’t find him and told the man’s attorney that his client should report to them immediately.
The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department says Garcia-Pineda was wearing the device when he was booked Sept. 3 on a misdemeanor battery charge. They removed it before his release.
ICE says it didn’t try to find him after his release because it didn’t want to jeopardize or impede the murder investigation.
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4:45 p.m.
Federal authorities say the San Francisco sheriff ignored a request to detain a second young immigrant wanted for deportation arrested on local charges.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said it made the request in May to block the release of 24-year-old Jesus Perez-Araujo after he was arrested for marijuana possession and possession of brass knuckles. Court records show Perez-Araujo charged only with misdemeanor possession of brass knuckles.
Perez-Araujo was charged with murder this week along with 18-year-old Erick Garcia-Pineda and another man. Police say Garcia-Pineda used a gun stolen from an officer’s car to kill Abel Ezquivel during an Aug. 15 robbery.
The sheriff says city policy requires her to ignore detainer requests from ICE unless the suspect has been charged or convicted of serious felonies.
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12:15 p.m.
Federal immigration authorities were tracking a young immigrant when San Francisco police say he shot and killed a popular community activist last month.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday that 18-year-old Erick Garcia-Pineda was free pending deportation since April. An immigration judge required him to wear an ankle monitor and routinely check in with ICE.
Police say Garcia-Pineda used a gun stolen from an officer’s car to kill Abel Ezquivel during an Aug. 15 robbery. He was arrested on misdemeanor battery charges Sept. 3 before becoming a suspect in the slaying.
ICE says the county sheriff ignored a request to block Garcia-Pineda’s release from jail that day. San Francisco’s “sanctuary city” policy honors those requests only for suspects charged or convicted of serious felonies.
Police arrested Garcia-Pineda and two others Sept. 11 on suspicion of murder.
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