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Thursday, June 25, 2009
Shooting Renews License Criticism
By Jeff Proctor
Journal Staff Writer
Two of the three suspects in the fatal armed takeover of a West Side Denny's had New Mexico driver's licenses, renewing a debate over the state's relatively lenient policy.
Pablo Ortiz, 32, and Francisco Melgar, 25, were both in the United States illegally at the time of Saturday's shooting, federal officials said. The men are natives of El Salvador and police say they are members of the infamous MS-13 gang from that country.
New Mexico is one of the few states that does not require proof of legal residency to issue a license, although officials say Ortiz and Melgar provided enough documentation to get their licenses in 2007 and 2003, respectively.
"The fact that thugs from other countries can come to New Mexico and get driver's licenses is extremely dangerous," Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White said Wednesday. "These are violent international gang members walking around with New Mexico driver's licenses. You should be able to show that you are here legally and for a reason to get a license."
State Taxation and Revenue Secretary Rick Homans said there is "no indication Ortiz and Melgar were in the country illegally when they applied for their New Mexico driver's licenses."
"In fact, there are indications that Ortiz was in the country legally when his license was issued," Homans said.
It is unclear when or why the immigration statuses changed.
Both Ortiz's and Melgar's licenses are currently revoked because of DWI charges, Homans said.
Homans said the state has no record of the third Denny's suspect, 22-year-old Marvin Lopez-Aguilar, ever applying for a driver's license here.
Homans said the state's policy on issuing licenses to non-U.S. citizens is designed to take a group of people who were previously "hidden from public record and bring them out of the shadows."
"It is not intended to make them legal citizens," he said. "It is intended to make them legal drivers, get them on the radar and encourage other legal behaviors like insuring their vehicles, abiding by traffic safety laws and not leaving the scene of an accident because they don't have a license.
"It is the job of the federal government to secure our borders and keep unsafe people out. It is our job to keep the highways safe through licensing and enforcing laws. The fact that these people had New Mexico driver's licenses did not contribute to them committing crimes."
Escape to Mexico
Police believe Melgar is now in Mexico.
Detectives learned earlier this week that one or two men drove Melgar to Phoenix on Monday morning, two days after the incident in which 34-year-old Stephanie Anderson, a cook at the restaurant, was fatally shot.
Mario Burgos-Rosales, 30, and possibly another man "then paid another male to take Francisco across the border into Mexico," according to police.
Burgos-Rosales was at the Metropolitan Detention Center late Wednesday on felony charges of harboring or aiding a felon and evidence tampering, jail records show. His bond was set at $200,000 cash or surety.
Harboring and evidence tampering charges may be forthcoming against members of Melgar's family and/or other acquaintances, police officials said. Detectives believe someone, possibly a friend or family member, picked up Melgar after the shooting and helped him elude police.
Melgar may also have told someone that Ortiz and Lopez-Aguilar had fired the shots inside the Denny's, police officials said.
Documents
Melgar had been in New Mexico since at least August 2003, Homans said. That's when his first driver's license was issued at the Motor Vehicle Division office on Montgomery NE.
Melgar provided a birth certificate, a paycheck, an independent tax identification number, an "identity document" from El Salvador and a certificate of completion of a DWI education program at the MVD office, Homans said. That was more than enough under state law at the time to get a license, he said.
Melgar most recently got his license renewed on April 1, Homans said. It was revoked on June 1.
Ortiz's license was issued in June 2007, he said, also at the Montgomery office. Ortiz showed a passport from El Salvador, a marriage certificate and a "document from a health plan showing a home address" to get his license. Homans said those documents met the requirements of state law, and said he could not elaborate on them because of privacy laws.
Ortiz's license was revoked in June 2008 and has not been reinstated, he said.
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