SANTA ROSA COUNTY

SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Sheriff Wendell Hall

9 Undocumented Workers Sentenced in Court: Will Be Picked Up By Immigration to Begin Deportation Process

Nine of the individuals that were arrested during a task force sweep have been sentenced in court. The nine individuals were each found guilty of one count of Using False Documents to Obtain Employment, a 3 rd degree felony. They each received a sentence of 18 months probation. Since the court process is finalized, Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be taking them into their custody to begin the deportation process. Their probation will automatically be terminated as soon as the deportation process is complete. This Task Force, assembled by Sheriff Wendell Hall, launched on February 03, 2008 . It was formed to help curb the issue of undocumented workers in Santa Rosa County . This effort has continued to operate, acting on citizen generated complaints regarding possible undocumented workers. The Task Force, comprised of 7 multi-lingual Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office deputies, has been working jointly with Walton County Sheriff Ralph Johnson, and Okaloosa County Sheriff Charlie Morris, in order to curb the problem of undocumented workers in the Florida Panhandle. The three county Task Force encourages the public to contact the Sheriff's Office with any complaints involving activity surrounding issues involving possible undocumented workers in Santa Rosa County . An ongoing tip line has been established for this purpose. The phone number is (850) 983-1198.

*** FOR THE MEDIA:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be present tomorrow morning ( 3/11/08 ) at 0800 hours to take custody of the individuals. Any media wishing to attend for photo/video opportunity can contact Sgt. Scott Haines by email.

Below is a list of the individuals that were picked up by ICE this morning as part of the ongoing task force.

Undocumented Workers from Panhandle Growers:

1.   Eden D. Cagal, H/M, 4/17/84, 7000 Block of Milton Road , Milton , FL

2. Antonio M. Conteras, H/M, 7/13/81, 800 Block of Trawick Lane , Milton , FL

3. Francisco S. Lopez, H/M, 11/19/76, 800 Block of Trawick Lane , Milton , FL

4.   Baltazar T. Tehuintte, H/M, 1/6/88, 800 Block of Trawick Lane , Milton , FL

5.   Bernardo Pacheco, H/M, 12/04/59, 800 Block of Trawick Lane , Milton , FL

Undocumented Workers From La Hacienda

6.   Marcos Vargas-Caloha, H/M, 4/05/58, 512 Holcombe Road , Milton , FL

7. Erick Barragan, H/M, 8/24/86, 5193 Hilltop Drive, Milton , FL

8.   Emmanuel Hernandez-Paz, H/M, 1/10/86, 4581 Davenport Lane Lot 6, Pace, FL

9.   Miguel Sanchez, H/M, 7/03/82, 5688 Reginas Way , Milton , FL

Press Release By:

Sgt. Scott Haines

Media Relations Unit

(850) 981-2136 or shaines@srso.net