The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

February 22, 2008

Feds charge 2 Mexican men with illegally re-entering U.S.

By Joe Pinchot

MERCER COUNTY — U.S. officials filed complaints Wednesday against two men who were arrested in Mercer County for immigration violations.

Santiago Fortozo-Melendez and Gustavo Miranda-Cabrera, both of Mexico, were encountered on different days by state police. They were charged with re-entry of a deported alien.

Fortozo-Melendez, 32, was driving a van stopped at 11:17 a.m. Feb. 3 for changing lanes without using a turn signal on Interstate 80 westbound in Findley Township, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

Fortozo-Melendez, who has three aliases, admitted not being in the country legally, which police confirmed later, Immigration said. He had been deported from the U.S. to Mexico June 5, 2006, at Douglas, Ariz., Immigration said.

In a statement to Immigration, Fortozo-Melendez said he entered the U.S. March 15 near Nogales, Ariz., to take care of his daughter, who lives in Chicago with her godmother, Immigration said. He had been working in Chicago as a landscaper, and borrowed a friend’s van to visit family in New York when he was arrested.

Miranda-Cabrera was identified as the driver of a sport-utility vehicle found Tuesday on the side of Interstate 80 at an undisclosed location in Mercer County, Immigration said.

The van had a flat and no spare, Immigration said. Three others also were in the van, and nobody had immigration documents or passports, Immigration said.

Miranda-Cabrera had been ordered deported June 2, 2007, although details of the action were not disclosed in the Immigration complaint, and he returned to the U.S. without permission seven or eight months go, Immigration said.

Miranda-Cabrera was cited by state police for driving without a license and paid a fine, Immigration said.

Both men face detention hearings Monday.

Text Only
Local News
  • Recycling program a bit too popular

    The  county’s effort at going green by encouraging recycling in rural areas has been a tremendous success by most accounts, but isn’t without a few glitches. In Wilmington Township, residents often only have a window of a few minutes to get cardboard recyclables in before the bin is full, prompting a discussion among Mercer County Commissioners Wednesday morning.

    May 25, 2012

  • District will tap reserve fund

    Reynolds school directors plan to fill a $374,567 hole in the 2012-2013 budget with money from the district’s fund balance.

    May 25, 2012

  • School board mulls change to sports chaperone policy

    In order to comply with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, the Sharpsville Area School Board is looking to adjust a chaperone policy it implemented six months ago.

    May 25, 2012

  • Afternoon crash hurts 3 high school students

    Three Jamestown High School students were injured – one seriously – when their pickup left a roadway in southwest Crawford County and crashed into a tree Tuesday afternoon.

    May 24, 2012

  • Board sells some, holds some

    Brookfield Board of Education members voted Tuesday to accept only the bids for the elementary school and the middle school, for a total of $97,050.
    The decision came after an hour-long executive session.

    May 24, 2012

  • Levey: Kohl’s project died with school vote

    Stripped of the necessity of voting for a tax incremental finance plan by Hermitage School Board’s unwillingness to participate, Mercer County commissioners said Wednesday they would like to meet with school board and Hermitage city officials to discuss other ways they can help Levey and Co. build a retail development in the city.

    But Levey spokeswoman Jeffrey A. Mills said there is nothing to discuss.

    May 24, 2012

  • Warden expects hectic season at county jail

    With the unofficial start of summer just a few days away, Mercer County Jail officials are preparing for a busy season.

    May 23, 2012

  • Levey officially drops TIF request

    Levey & Co. has officially ended its request for a tax incremental financing plan to build a retail development anchored by a Kohl’s department store.

    May 23, 2012

  • Grant will pay to fix 12-15 homes



    The City of Farrell will be able to fix up about a dozen homes in the city thanks to a $300,000 HOME grant from the state.

    May 23, 2012

  • Hard budget choices yet to come


     
    Hermitage School Board has been fortunate in many ways during the economic downturn that has been so hard on many other schools.

    May 23, 2012