Authorities arrested Orlando Vilchez Lazo, 36, who allegedly posed as a Lyft driver in San Francisco, CA, in order to lure victims.
Lazo received four counts of felony of rape. ICE said he is in the country illegally and “plans to deport” him back to “Peru if he’s released from custody on the rape case.”
Lazo’s DNA matches with four victims as of now. He did not “enter a plea deal in his court date Tuesday and his arraignment was put off until Thursday.” He is in jail “in lieu of $4.2 million in bail.”
He faces life in prison if convicted.
From The Press Democrat:
ICE said it formally asked the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department on Friday to detain Lazo for federal immigration custody if he’s ordered released from jail.But officials said they believe the request will be ignored because San Francisco’s so-called sanctuary city policy bars local authorities from cooperating with most deportation efforts.ICE officials criticized the San Francisco’s immigration policy, which has also been adopted in scores of cities and counties across the nation. The policy “not only provides a refuge for illegal aliens, but it also shields criminal aliens who prey on people in the community,” ICE spokesman Richard Rocha said.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, it’s common for immigration authorities to reach out to local jails and request they “hold undocumented inmates or notify immigration officials 48 hours before release.” Lazo will only leave jail if authorities drop all the charges against him.
An ICE spokesman said this case has nothing “to do with the city’s sanctuary city policy” and that it used “routine language about anyone in custody in a sanctuary city.”
Lazo’s deputy public defender Eric Quandt told the media that “ICE has made this case about sanctuary laws and immigration status, and that has nothing to do with the charges that are being brought by the district attorney.”
Looks like San Francisco won’t respond. From The New York Post:
San Francisco sheriff’s spokeswoman Nancy Crowley said the department didn’t have a response to ICE’s request to detain the suspect “because there is nothing to respond to.”Crowley said the suspect “isn’t going anywhere anytime soon” and if he’s convicted, he will be sent to prison.“ICE asked us to notify them when he’s released,” Crowley said. “The individual is going to be in jail for some time.”
Plus, the policy for San Francisco prohibits its officials from cooperating with requests “unless the defendant has been convicted of a serious crime, while state law prohibits cooperation unless a person has been charged or convicted of a serious crime.” Lazo does not have a criminal record in California.
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