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Brown-Waite, Sheriff Clash Over Handling Of Rape Cases

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By JOSH POLTILOVE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 26, 2008

TAMPA - When Hillsborough County deputies arrested Rigoberto Moron Martinez on a domestic violence-related charge on Aug. 5, they knew he was a suspect in another investigation in St. Petersburg.

They soon suspected he might be in the country illegally as well.

They let him loose seven hours later anyway. Investigators say that nine days later, Martinez robbed an Apollo Beach restaurant and raped two female employees. Martinez has since been linked to a St. Petersburg rape and robbery, a July 19 assault in Ellenton and a home invasion and rape in Gibsonton, also in July.

Authorities' handling of the case has prompted a round of finger-pointing, including between Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee and U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite.

Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, is calling for a review of the interaction, "or lack thereof," between Hillsborough law enforcement and immigration officials in connection with Martinez's arrest.

She sent a letter Monday to U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill, saying action should have been taken to make sure Martinez wasn't set free and asking the U.S. Attorney's Office to determine whether federal laws were violated or ignored.

Several Florida women's lives "have been permanently scarred by these brutal rapes; events that could have been avoided if Hillsborough County had followed the law, reported this illegal immigrant to federal authorities and held him for trial and deportation," Brown-Waite said in a statement. "It is clear to me that we need a federal investigation of the events surrounding the arrest and release of this man, and if warranted, new leadership at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office."

Gee said the office followed normal protocol in dealing with Martinez and described the congresswoman's call for a federal investigation as naive and politically motivated.

In a statement e-mailed Monday to The Tampa Tribune, the sheriff's office said: "Congresswoman Brown-Waite may have been better served getting answers to her questions before attempting to gain political traction at the expense of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

"While she awaits our response, perhaps this elected official can ask herself where she failed as a member of Congress to secure our borders and enact meaningful legislation on immigration issues."

Martinez first came to the St. Petersburg Police Department's attention after a robbery and rape at The Table restaurant in St. Petersburg about 3 a.m. Aug. 3. He quickly became a suspect after restaurant officials told police Martinez was a disgruntled employee.

By that afternoon, investigators were talking with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office about Martinez. By the next night, the St. Petersburg Police Department's special investigative unit had him under surveillance, hoping to surreptitiously get a DNA sample and find out who he was hanging out with.

Hillsborough County knew the unit was following Martinez and that Martinez was a suspect in a St. Petersburg robbery and rape, said St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Proffitt.

Hillsborough County sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway said his office didn't know what Martinez was accused of doing, only that St. Petersburg police had an ongoing investigation involving him.

At that point, St. Petersburg investigators thought they were dealing with an isolated case in which a former restaurant employee committed a single crime in retaliation for a pay dispute.

On Aug. 5, investigators decided to arrest Martinez. He was arrested at about 9:45 p.m. by a Hillsborough County deputy at the request of the St. Petersburg unit on a misdemeanor count of failing to appear on a domestic-related charge.

Proffitt said St. Petersburg police notified the federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency of the arrest by telephone and teletype. He said that when the ICE agent on call was notified by telephone that Martinez was a suspect in a robbery and rape, the agent asked whether Martinez had been arrested on a felony. The agent was told no.

The ICE agent also asked whether Martinez had been deported previously and had re-entered the country illegally. The St. Petersburg investigator said he did not know.

The ICE agent told the investigator to send a fax about the situation to the federal agency's call center. St. Petersburg Detective Peter Venero sent the fax about Martinez's situation at 11:06 p.m., according to a copy provided by the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Martinez was released from jail at 4:43 a.m. on Aug. 6.

On Aug. 16, he attacked two Apollo Beach women, investigators have said. He was arrested again on Aug. 20 and remains in jail.

Brown-Waite said she wants to examine who made the mistakes.

"Unfortunately for the lives of the women raped by this illegal immigrant ringleader and his two accomplices, it appears that some area law enforcement officials may not have had the proper training and tools to work with ICE and federal officials," Brown-Waite wrote in her letter to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"Hopefully, a federal investigation will identify the areas where Hillsborough County, St. Petersburg and ICE dropped the ball with identifying and deporting this man, and we can all work together to find ways to ensure that it won't happen again."

A directive from the Department of Justice says that whenever there's a congressional inquiry, the matter must be sent to the congressional affairs office, which must respond, U.S. Attorney O'Neill said.

Gee said Monday that Hillsborough jail officials contacted the immigration agency during Martinez's booking, and the agency immediately sent an automated response confirming it had received the information.

He produced a document Monday stating that immigration officials had received an inquiry about Martinez's legal status.

But ICE spokesman Ivan Ortiz could not confirm whether the agency had been notified. Even if immigration officials had received the notification, he said, Martinez would not have met the qualifications for a high-priority case.

Someone charged with aggravated crime such as rape, a person with a prior felony conviction, or a threat to national security would be considered a top priority, he said.

"I think we do the best we can with the resources that we have," Ortiz said.

Gee said Brown-Waite's criticism and call for a federal investigation are off the mark, adding that open borders are the problem, not his department's jails or an overwhelmed immigration agency.

In any given year, Gee said, about 75,000 people pass through Hillsborough jails, and roughly 10 percent potentially are illegal immigrants. He said immigration officials take action on only a small percentage of that group.

"This issue is so much bigger than what has been made by Mrs. Brown-Waite," the sheriff said.

Jose Walle, 13, of Wimauma, and Vicente Reyes-Carbajal, 20, of Ruskin, also were involved in some of the incidents, investigators said. Like Martinez, they are illegal immigrants, Ortiz said.

Deputies don't have access to federal immigration records and have no way of verifying someone's immigration status, Callaway said. However, deputies send lists of foreign-born inmates to immigration officials on a daily basis, he said.

Gee also said Brown-Waite's comments sound like someone running for office. Brown-Waite is seeking re-election to Florida's 5th Congressional District, which includes Hernando, Citrus and Sumter counties, and parts of Pasco, Polk, Lake, Levy and Marion counties.

It also looks like Brown-Waite may have company in her call for a review of how the case was handled. On Monday, Clay Phillips, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, said Castor is in the process of drafting a letter to ICE.

"We want to figure out how the gaps can be closed," Phillips said. "Because it doesn't appear to be working for the community."

Researcher Michael Messano, Tribune reporters Stephen Thompson and Ray Reyes and News Channel 8 reporter Yolanda Fernandez contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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