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From the Los Angeles Times

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Chandra Levy's killer sentenced to 60 years in prison

Ingmar Guandique was convicted last year of the 2001 killing of Chandra Levy, a Washington intern. Her disappearance became national news when she was romantically linked to Gary Condit, a married congressman.

by Julie Mianecki, Washington Bureau

February 11, 2011

WASHINGTON — The man convicted of killing former Washington intern Chandra Levy nearly a decade ago was sentenced Friday to 60 years in prison.

Ingmar Guandique, 29, will not be eligible for parole until he is at least 80, D.C. Superior Court Judge Gerald I. Fisher said, rejecting pleas for a minimum sentence by lawyers for the illegal immigrant from El Salvador.

"I think he is a dangerous person," Fisher said. "I think he is a dangerous person to women in particular, and I think will remain one for quite some time."

Levy's mother, Susan Levy, addressed the killer during the sentencing hearing. "Mr. Guandique, you are lower than a cockroach," she said, the McClatchy Newspapers reported, before closing her statement with: "[expeletive] you."

Guandique, who listened to Friday's proceedings through a headset, was dressed in an orange jumpsuit and was mostly restrained, although he appeared to be crying when the judge asked for his comments.

"I'm very sorry for what happened to your daughter," Guandique said, addressing Levy's parents through an interpreter. "But I had nothing to do with it. I am innocent."

Levy, then 24, was planning to return to her hometown of Modesto, Calif., after completing an internship with the Bureau of Prisons. She disappeared on May 1, 2001, while running in the capital city's Rock Creek Park, where her remains were discovered 13 months later.

Her disappearance set off a dragnet by the police and FBI that prompted headlines worldwide because it initially ensnared Rep. Gary Condit (D-Calif.), a married man who reportedly was having an affair with Levy.

Guandique was convicted of first-degree murder in November. He was serving a 10-year prison sentence for assaulting two women at knifepoint in the park around the time of Levy's disappearance and was to have been released in December. The new sentence will keep him in jail until at least 2062.

Guandique's attorneys discussed his underprivileged upbringing in El Salvador and his psychological problems when making a case for a shorter sentence, but Fisher said if Guandique didn't deserve life in prison, he deserved something close to it.

"That may be a life sentence," Fisher said. "In all likelihood it is a life sentence."

Fisher also recommended counseling for sexually deviant behavior and five years of supervision if Guandique is eventually released from prison.

Fisher cited Guandique's history of criminal behavior against women and disturbing comments to police about an inability to stop himself from assaulting people in isolated and vulnerable positions.

"The victim was a young, vibrant person with her whole life in ahead of her," Fisher said. "This is a truly powerful crime."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/sc-dc-0212-chandra-levy-20110212,0,4665651,print.story

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A dependency court cure

A bill that calls for California's dependency courts to conduct open proceedings would benefit children.

February 12, 2011

Secrecy in California's dependency courts, where cases of child abuse and neglect are heard, has protected negligent parents, foster parents and social workers from serious scrutiny of their actions. And it has failed children.

Elsewhere in the nation, these once-secret hearings have been opened, to positive results. Transparency has led to improved care and greater public confidence in Oregon and Minnesota and more than a dozen other states. California, however, has continued to conduct most dependency proceedings in closed courtrooms, shielded not only from the media but also from advocates for children and other interested observers. Elected leaders like to boast of their commitment to transparency and accountability, but in this case they have opted instead for closure and secrecy.

Thankfully, Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) has introduced a bill to remedy that. Details of the ultimate proposal will emerge from hearings next month to take testimony from experts on all sides of the debate. But Feuer's underlying goal is laudable: to insist that dependency proceedings be presumptively open rather than routinely closed. Though that's monumentally important, it's also notably modest. Feuer is not suggesting that all hearings in all dependency courts would henceforth be open to the public. In cases in which judges conclude that a child's welfare would be best served by closing a hearing, they could do so. But that decision would be made against a backdrop assumption that public accountability is desirable.

Opening the state's dependency courts is an idea that has been gaining momentum in recent years. Michael Nash, the presiding judge of Los Angeles County Juvenile Court, is a stalwart supporter, and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, which once opposed it, now favors it as well. Public employee unions, whose members might be subjected to greater scrutiny, remain wary, but they should come to see that public proceedings will help instill public confidence. Witness the case of police officers who once flinched at putting cameras in patrol cars: Today, those cameras are widely regarded as protecting good officers from false accusations. So too would open proceedings protect those social workers who deserve it.

Feuer has devoted himself to finding solutions to problems that can be addressed without new spending; the state's finances make that imperative. He's succeeded with this bill, which involves no cost to taxpayers. "Opening these proceedings to public scrutiny," he said this week, "will promote needed reforms and help safeguard children by making everyone in the system more accountable." That is true and overdue.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-dependency-20110212,0,6504386,print.story

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From the New York Times

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3 Shot Dead, 3 Wounded in Virginia; Suspect Is Arrested

A 37-year-old illegal immigrant was under arrest Friday after three people were found shot to death and three others were wounded at two houses just blocks apart in the northern Virginia city of Manassas, the police said.

The victims in the shooting on Thursday night included several members of the same family, but said Chief Douglas W. Keen of the Manassas Police Department said it was not clear how, or if, the victims knew the suspect, Jose Oswaldo Reyes Alfaro, 37.

Mr. Alfaro, 37, from El Salvador, had been ordered deported by a federal judge in 2002, but apparently never left the country, the authorities said.

Officers responding Thursday evening to a report of shots fired found the body of Brenda Ashcraft, 56, in the front yard of her house on Hood Road, Chief Keen said.

Inside, the police found three other family members who had been shot.

William Ashbey Ashcraft, 37, died of a bullet wound on the way to the hospital, the police said. A 34-year-old woman and a 15-year-old girl were wounded; the woman is in a hospital in stable condition, and the girl was treated and released. Their names were not released.

About 30 minutes later, Chief Keen said, officers responding to another call of shots fired, on Brent Street, about a quarter-mile away, found the body of Julio Cesar Ulloa, 48.

A 77-year-old woman with head wounds — possibly from a stabbing — was also inside the house, the police said. She was hospitalized in stable condition; her name was not released.

About 45 minutes after the first call to police, Mr. Alfaro was arrested while driving nearby. Chief Keen said some of the victims had described the suspect and his car to the police.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/us/12manassas.html?_r=1&ref=us&pagewanted=print

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From Google News

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Amber Alert Kidnapping Suspect Extradited Back To Florida

February 12, 2011

The man who allegedly kidnapped a 17-month old Tuesday night has been extradited from Alabama to the Escambia County Jail in Pensacola.

Keith Square Sr., 36, of the 500 block of North B Street, Pensacola, is being held without bond on charges of kidnapping, interference with custody and a probation violation. He is a former resident of Blackmon Street in Century, according to Escambia County Circuit Court records.

Square Sr. is accused of kidnapping Keith Square, Jr. Tuesday, prompting a nationwide Amber Alert for the toddler. According to police, Square Sr. is not the father of Square Jr., and the mother has sole legal custody.

The child's mother, Monique Slater, 29, of Pensacola, was visiting friends in the 1200 block of Cervantes Street in Pensacola Tuesday, according to police, when Square Sr. showed up and asked to take the baby to see some friends.

Davis said the mother agreed. A short time later, the suspect  Square called Slater and told her she would never see the baby again. Pensacola Police said Square called Slater several times threatening to harm the baby and also said that he and the baby “would not be taken alive.”

The vehicle believed to have been used in the kidnapping was later located in Brewton Tuesday night, where the driver told Brewton Police that the suspect and baby were dropped off at a residence near Century Woods on West Highway 4 in Century.

The Escambia County Sheriff's Department unsuccessfully checked several possible suspect locations in Century, including homes on Blackmon Street and West Highway 4, Tuesday night in an effort to the find the child.

Someone dropped the child off at East Brewton (Ala.) Police Department Wednesday morning. About an hour later, Square, Sr. turned himself into authorities in Alabama and was booked into the Escambia County (Ala.) Detention Center in Brewton.

http://www.northescambia.com/?p=44380

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From the Department of Justice

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Virginia Man Sentenced to 102 Months in Prison for Engaging in a Child Exploitation Enterprise

WASHINGTON – Ryan Chiles of Hampton, Va., was sentenced today in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 102 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania David J. Hickton and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge John Kelleghan.

Chiles, 22, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Arthur J. Schwab on July 14, 2010, to one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. According to court documents and proceedings, Chiles and others distributed images and videos of children being sexually abused to other members of an international group that had restricted membership and was formed on a social networking website.  Members of the group distributed to one another thousands of sexually explicit images and videos of children, many of which graphically depicted prepubescent, male children, including some infants, being sexually abused and sometimes sodomized or subjected to bondage.   

This case was investigated by HSI in Pittsburgh and the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig W. Haller of the Western District of Pennsylvania and CEOS Trial Attorney Andrew McCormack prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/February/11-crm-180.html

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From ICE

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ICE part of unprecedented, multi-agency effort securing border in Arizona

'ACTT' combats border-related threats in high-risk areas to bolster safety

Tucson, Ariz. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge for Arizona Matthew Allen, along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Alan Bersin and Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief Randy Hill, announced the results to date of the Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats (ACTT).

ACTT is a collaborative enforcement effort launched in September 2009 that leverages the capabilities and resources of more than 60 federal, state, local and tribal agencies in Arizona and the Government of Mexico. Together, these entities combat individuals and criminal organizations that pose a threat to communities on both sides of the border.

"The scope and complexity of criminal smuggling organizations operating along the ArizonaMexico border requires a united front from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies," said Allen. "ICE is proud to participate in this unprecedented effort to secure the Arizona-Sonora corridor and bring a smart and effective approach to border security."

Since its inception, ACTT has resulted in: 

• The seizure of more than 1.6 million lbs. of marijuana, 3,800 lbs. of cocaine, and 1,000 lbs. of methamphetamine;
• The seizure of more than $13 million in undeclared U.S. currency and 268 weapons;
• Nearly 14,000 aliens denied entry to the U.S. at Arizona ports of entry due to criminal background or other disqualifying factors; and
• About 270,000 apprehensions between ports of entry.

Further, Allen said "ICE is firmly committed to ensuring our borders are secure, and the agency is reinforcing its efforts to disrupt and reduce the illicit flow of guns, money, drugs, and criminals in both directions across the border."

ICE's commitment to the ACTT extends to the entire agency. Both HSI and ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) are integral partners with members on the Unified Command and resources permanently assigned to ACTT executive staff.

ICE works with partner agencies to cohesively target smuggling routes and corridors into Phoenix, and ICE agents are leveraging the resource and intelligence capabilities of ACTT to secure the safety of Arizona communities.

Supported by ACTT, ICE has accomplished the following:

• April 2010 - Operation In Plain Sight resulted in ICE denying human smuggling organizations the use of commercial transportation in the movement of illegal aliens from Tucson into Phoenix.
• August 2010 - HSI agents, working with the CBP Office of Field Operations in Lukeville, Ariz., opened a criminal investigation into a weapons trafficking organization that resulted in the disruption of a smuggling scheme.

ICE's priority on effective immigration enforcement that targets criminal aliens has also been incorporated into ACTT. 

• ICE ERO created the Joint Criminal Alien Removal Task Force (JCART), which focuses on identifying and arresting criminal aliens unlawfully living in Arizona.
• ICE ERO has also contributed additional resources to the Violent Criminal Alien Section, which seeks to support the felony prosecution of aggravated felons who unlawfully reenter Arizona following deportation.

Since launching the Southwest Border Initiative (SBI) in March 2009, the Obama administration has engaged in an unprecedented effort to bring focus and intensity to Southwest border security, coupled with a reinvigorated, smart and effective approach to enforcing immigration laws in the interior of our country.

DHS has doubled the number of ICE personnel assigned to Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BEST); increased the number of intelligence analysts working along the U.S.-Mexico border; quintupled deployments of Border Liaison Officers; deployed thousands of technology assets - including mobile surveillance units, thermal imaging systems, and large-and small-scale non-intrusive inspection equipment - at and between the ports of entry; and begun screening of southbound rail and vehicle traffic for the illegal weapons and cash that are helping to fuel the cartel violence in Mexico. Also, the Border Patrol is better staffed than at any time in its history, having doubled the number of agents from about 10,000 in 2004 to more than 20,700 in 2010.

These investments have also produced significant results. Border Patrol apprehensions-a key indicator of illegal immigration-have decreased 36 percent in the past two years and are less than half of what they were at their peak; violent crime in border communities has remained flat or fallen in the past decade. Statistics show that some of the safest communities in America are on the border.

In addition, in fiscal years 2009 and 2010, ICE and CBP seized more than $282 million in illegal currency, more than 7 million pounds of drugs, and more than 6,800 weapons along the entire Southwest border - increases of more than $73 million, more than 1 million pounds of drugs and more than 1,500 weapons compared to 2007 and 2008. In the coming months, DHS will continue to deploy additional resources to the Southwest border.

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1102/110208tucson.htm

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