gaithersblog.net

• Meghan Tierney writes, Guilty plea in gang stabbing:
  

  Kevin O. Churchill, 18, of the 500 block of King Farm Boulevard was indicted for attempted first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder Dec. 7 in Montgomery County Circuit Court. Police have said he helped attack a then-26-year-old man Nov. 6 in Gaithersburg in retaliation for the fatal gang-related stabbing of Robert Troy Jackson, 21, of Germantown at the Lakeforest Transit Center the day before, police have said.

• Sebastian Montes writes, Deportation, 40-year sentence in domestic abuse case:
  

  Manuel Donis Davilla, a 58-year Guatemalan who came into the country illegally 31 years ago, will be deported back to his home country once he serves his time at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

  Because he is an illegal immigrant, he is not eligible for parole or other pre-release programs; so the earliest he can be released to immigration officials is after serving 20 years in jail, Judge Terrence McGann said at the April 25 court hearing.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, Park police make drug bust after seeing Porsche speeding:
  

  Josue G. Sequeira, 20, of the 900 block of Stewartown Road in Gaithersburg, was charged with five drug, paraphernalia and weapons offenses, including intent to distribute on school bus or property and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a minor, according to court records. State law allows police to include the school-related charges if apprehension occurs within a school zone, said Lt. Karen Petrarca a spokeswoman with the Maryland-National Capital Park Police, Montgomery County Division.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, Arson to blame at vacant Olde Towne apartments:
  

  Fire investigators ruled as arson a three-alarm blaze that called about 100 firefighters to an empty apartment complex last week in Olde Towne Gaithersburg, according to county fire and rescue officials.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, Asbury fire injures one:
  

  A Tuesday morning fire at Asbury Methodist Village sent one nursing facility resident to the hospital with burns, according to county Fire and Rescue Services.

Photo courtesy Clark W. Day Photo-Graphics [not from Gazette]

• Patrick Dunne and C. Benjamin Ford write, Pedestrian killed by CSX train:
  

  A CSX freight struck and killed a pedestrian about 6:20 a.m. Wednesday near the Garrett Park MARC station.

  Update: The victim was identified on Thursday:

  Police identified the man struck and killed by a CSX freight train Wednesday morning as Philip Valerinch Ivantsov, 23, of the 12400 block of Braxfield Court in Rockville.

  Also, according to the Examiner, the medical examiner has ruled the death accidental.

• Patricia M. Murret writes, Gaithersburg leaders discuss dollars and sense:
  

  The Gaithersburg city budget under consideration shows a decrease in capital projects to meet hiked operating expenses while continuing a tradition of not raising taxes.

• Joe Beck writes, Pump prices could fuel gas thefts:
  

  Armed with a bucket, a hose and a little knowledge of physics, gasoline thieves have begun appearing in Montgomery County and police say they are worried that it’s an “emerging trend.”

Sherry Greenfield reports in the Gazette, Casa: Checking immigration status costs Frederick County $3.2 million:

Immigration supporters released a report today placing an annual price tag of $3.2 million on a program that allows sheriff’s deputies to check the immigration status of everyone taken to the Frederick County Adult Detention Center.

The 27-page report [link added –gb] released by Casa De Maryland disputes claims by Frederick County Chuck Jenkins (R) that the 287G program costs the county nothing, and that funding for the program comes from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Gazette story of course does not directly quote anyone who disagrees with CASA.

Nicholas C. Stern writes in the Frederick News-Post, Immigration enforcement: at what cost?

Rosibel David, a Hispanic immigrant living in Frederick, is alone with a 5-year-old child after her companion was arrested for not being able to present proof of residency about a week ago. Her companion was taken into custody following a traffic stop on his way to a job interview.

Since then, she and her child have been evicted from their apartment because she cannot afford her $900 rent, so she is staying with friends, David said.

David was brought to tears while speaking at CASA de Maryland’s press conference to unveil a report about a Frederick County program to detain and deport unauthorized immigrants. She said she has been unable to retrieve information about her partner’s case.

Well past the middle of this 1200-word article, there is one note of disagreement:

Frederick County Commissioner Charles Jenkins said he believed people who spoke at the press conference had good intentions.

Jenkins said, however, he did not support their calls to bring an end to the 287(g) agreement.

“I support the program and the sheriff enthusiastically,” he said.

He challenged figures cited by CASA de Maryland in its report. By housing some inmates from throughout Maryland for ICE over the past year, the sheriff was able to bring in $500,000 and help close the gap on the county’s $1.2 million budget deficit, Jenkins said.

Also, more than half the officers deputized as a result of the agreement are corrections officers, he said, so the percentage of officers in the field might be more in line with other jurisdictions.

Furthermore, charges of racial profiling are easy to make, but hard to prove, Jenkins said.

“It looked like they cherry-picked statistics to make their point,” he said.

Pamela Constable writes in the Washington Post, Immigrants Feel Less Welcome in Frederick, at least stating the Sheriff’s case near the beginning of the article:

“The single biggest threat to our country is the immigration problem. We cannot continue to absorb this population or we will end up in collapse like a Third World country,” said Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, whose officers have identified 18 illegal immigrants in the past two weeks after traffic stops or other incidents. “We are not going out in a white van with a big net, but we are getting the criminal element of the illegal population out of Frederick County.”

Local opponents of the measures, including black, white and Hispanic residents, say the crackdown and other proposed actions smack of racism and political grandstanding. They say Latinos have been welcomed by Frederick’s businesses as a source of cheap labor. Since 1990, the county’s Hispanic population has more than tripled, from fewer than 5,000 to more than 15,000, growing to about 5 percent of the county’s inhabitants.

Kelly Brewington writes in the Baltimore Sun, Policy raises ire in W. Md.:

Kerry O’Brien, legal director at CASA, said immigrants have become scapegoats in Frederick and in other places where restrictive local immigration policies have been passed, such as Prince William County, Va., where stringent immigration enforcement has ignited fierce debate.

“Frederick is definitely the farthest out in its sentiment against immigrants and basically showing little appreciation to the contributions that immigrants have made, such as in the construction boom,” she said. “No one complains when immigrants contribute to the economy, but all of a sudden, people have become organized around blaming any particular problem on immigrants.” During the question-and-answer portion of the news conference, Frederick resident Richard Schultz stunned immigration-rights advocates by launching into personal complaints about illegal immigration in the county.

“What do you say to the burden on the typical American worker whose wages are cut under by illegal aliens?” he said. “Illegal aliens should be getting out of the country, going to the back of the line and doing things the right way.”