Lawyer wants man tried as juvenile
Saturday, August 30, 2008
BEAUFORT —The lawyer for a man whom authorities say ran a scam with his girlfriend where they claimed she was pregnant with quintuplets says his client was 16 when he was arrested and shouldn't be tried as an adult. The Beaufort Gazette reports that attorney Lee Bowers showed Juan Salvador Solis' Mexican birth certificate at a hearing Thursday. A judge asked for more evidence before she would rule. Bowers wants Solis tried as a juvenile on a charge of obtaining goods under false pretenses. Solis and Erika Nieves-Abrigo, also known as Nancy Cantu, were arrested in January. The pair received more than $1,000 in cash and donations before an ultrasound showed the story was not true.
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Posted by SomeTruthPlease on August 30, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Deport, deport, deport.
Posted by LadyM on August 30, 2008 at 11:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If he was old enough to sneak into this country and come up with this scheme, he is old enough to be tried as an adult. Then deport him and his girlfriend back to where this sort of thing is an everyday occurance. We have had enough crime committed by these illegal's to last a lifetime.
Posted by GreenvilleGirl on August 30, 2008 at 12:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It sounds like the judge has done her homework. Many Mexican birth certificates are not considered valid; midwives(unlicensed) deliver most Mexican babies in rural areas and they file the paperwork for the birth certificate. If the Mexican town lies near the US border, many will file the birth certificate stating the child was born in the US. Since there is no government oversight regarding the birth, the certificate can state almost anything, and it can be easily "amended".
The defendants know this, the attorney knows this, and most judiciaries with high number of Mexicans living in the area know this.
It will be interesting to see how this pans out.