Will the real Mr. Deleon stand up?
By Andy Gates — Argus Observer
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 11:13 AM PDT
VALE — Three names — one man.
An area man charged Monday with manslaughter after his child’s tragic death used at least three aliases during previous police encounters and has left authorities guessing on his true identity.
That man — known as Daniel Cabello Deleon, David Raigoza Franco and Oscar Gonzalez Vasquez — was charged as Deleon Monday with manslaughter, criminal negligent homicide and DUI, in the death of his 8-year-old daughter, who was ejected Sunday afternoon from an SUV along Oregon Highway 201.
Police say the man is not a legal U.S. citizen and has used different names during previous encounters with authorities.
He was first identified Monday as Deleon by Oregon State Police.
That lasted until Tuesday at 1 p.m. when OSP determined his “true identity” was Franco, a man with pre-existing warrants for probation violations, resisting arrest and furnishing false information to police.
“He was positively identified (as Franco) through fingerprints and had outstanding warrants for his arrest,” according to a release from OSP.
Hours later, the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office determined through a national fingerprint and records check that Franco and Deleon were alias names for the man who is actually Vasquez.
Malheur County Jail Commander Rachel Reyna said Tuesday the man appeared in Malheur County Circuit Court in connection to the prior warrants, where he said his true name was Vasquez.
The man had also confirmed through an interpreter in court Monday, his name was Deleon and he had never been convicted of a crime or failed to appear in court.
Authorities were tipped off to the aliases when an Ontario police officer saw the man’s picture Monday night with the name Deleon on a local television news’ Web site.
The officer knew him from a prior arrest in 1999, where he was named Franco, Ontario Police Department Capt. Mark Alexander said.
So, the Ontario officer alerted the Malheur County Jail to the discrepancy, Alexander said.
During jail booking procedures, inmates are fingerprinted, and it can take two to three weeks before results are returned, Malheur County Undersheriff Brian Wolfe said.
The process can be expedited, though, in situations where there are discrepancies and questions regarding who an inmate is, Wolfe said.
Not only have different names been used by the man, police said his age is also unclear. Ages given to police during previous encounters have ranged from 31 to 34, police records show.
It is not uncommon for people to give false names to police because of either cultural differences or evasive intentions, authorities said.
So, what is the man’s real name?
“Right now law enforcement is investigating a third name, and we’ll consult with the D.A. to determine which name to use,” Oregon State Police Lt. Rich Pileggi said Tuesday night.
The Malheur County Jail, however, settled on the name Vasquez.
Even so, the man’s true identity may not be known, Malheur County District Attorney Dan Norris conceded when state police settled on the Franco name.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on the man at the jail, so he cannot be released on bond, Reyna confirmed.
His bond had been set Monday at $100,000 or $10,000 cash.
“We’ll sort it all out. Because of the (immigration) hold, we do not have to sort it out today,” Norris said Tuesday.
Oregon State Police identified the deceased girl as Clarissa Vasquez Caldera, the man’s daughter.
There were the only two occupants of the vehicle, and before the crash they were headed to pick up food items for a get-together, authorities have said.
Caldera died at the scene of the Sunday single-vehicle rollover and was not wearing a seat belt, an OSP release shows.
The man’s blood alcohol content registered at .21, according to a Malheur County Circuit Court schedule, almost three times the legal limit.
Caldera’s father told the court Monday he had lived in Nyssa for about a year, and in California prior to that. If convicted, he faces a maximum possible prison sentence of 31 years.
Court-appointed defense attorney Manuel Perez said Monday his client is “distraught” about his daughter’s death.
The father also could face a misdemeanor charge of furnishing false information to police.
However, prosecutors may not pursue the charge.
“With a manslaughter charge there comes a point of perhaps overkill,” Norris said.
The case will go to a Malheur County grand jury Thursday, officials said.
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