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Title: Family of woman killed (By Illegal Alien) in crash still seeking answers after pre-trial release
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URL Source: http://www.nonpareilonline.com/news ... 8e-5cb1-8fa8-f7a0a269994f.html
Published: Mar 13, 2016
Author: Staff
Post Date: 2016-03-13 01:17:47 by Horse
Keywords: None
Views: 68
Comments: 1
For relatives and friends, closure is still elusive more than a month after the death of Sarah Root. Root died of injuries she sustained in a South Omaha crash on Jan. 31. The man authorities accuse of being responsible for the crash, however, remains at large. Eswin Mejia was charged with felony motor vehicle homicide and operating a vehicle while intoxicated on Feb. 3 and released after posting 10 percent of a $50,000 bond on Feb. 5. He has not been seen by law enforcement since his release. Specifically, Mejia has not shown up for twice-daily Breathalyzer testing, a condition of his bond reduction, nor did he appear for his Feb. 26 preliminary hearing. A judge has since revoked his bail and issued a bench warrant. Mejia was listed on his jail booking sheet as being from Honduras and not a U.S. citizen. Douglas County pretrial release officials graded him a low risk to flee despite the fact that he had a warrant and twice had failed to appear in court. Efforts by the Omaha Police Department to have Mejia detained by federal Immigration Customs Enforcement failed, which would have blocked his release upon posting bail. Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine has criticized the case’s handling, saying, “There has to be a common-sense communication between the feds and the state.” In Iowa, Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber said Iowa Department of Corrections pretrial officers interview offenders and make recommendations about bond or detention, with Fourth Judicial District judges usually following the initial recommendations of pretrial officials. “(Judges) are more open to other options (or reductions in bond) upon the filing of a motion for a bond review by defense counsel,” Wilber said. Bill Pappas, pre-trial release supervisor for the Fourth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services, said individuals charged with aggravated misdemeanors and felonies are interviewed and the information that is collected is verified before a recommendation is made to the court. Pappas said his officers’ recommendations, which are normally followed by the court, are generally that (a) the individual be held for bond; (b) be released with supervision, a release that may or may not require the individual to post a bond; or (c) be released on his or her own recognizance. Those recommendations are based on responses to a standardized three-page questionnaire used by pre-trail investigators. Information gathered to make decisions includes: • Present and previous address • How long lived at those addresses • Marital status • Number of children and, if divorced, number of children supported • Any cases pending in any criminal court • Employment history and references • The individual’s prior record, including any probation or parole • Whether the individual has ever failed to appear or absconded from prosecution, pre-trail release, probation or parole • The individual’s family ties • The individual’s financial resources, including wages and monthly expenses • The individual’s character and physical and mental condition, including prior treatment for mental illness or emotional disorders along with the pre-trail investigator’s evaluation of signs of anxiety, psychosis or other mental disorder • The pre-trail investigator’s opinion regarding the safety of others if the individual is released Pappas said that after the interview is completed, pre-trail officers check the individual’s criminal history and attempt to verify the information collected during the interview “Our biggest concern, our No. 1 priority, is community safety,” Pappas said. If the information cannot be verified, there is no recommendation for pre-trial release. “Most of the people on pre-trail release do pretty well,” Pappas said. “We work very hard at looking at people before we make our recommendations, but there will always be instances when people slip through the cracks.” 
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#1. To: Horse (#0)
I think this guy has gone back to Mexico. ;) "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
Specifically, Mejia has not shown up for twice-daily Breathalyzer testing, a condition of his bond reduction, nor did he appear for his Feb. 26 preliminary hearing. A judge has since revoked his bail and issued a bench warrant.
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