Wednesday, August 29, 2007

illegal rapes a 73 year old

nice,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, those hard working illegals, right?
no photo of the victim.

Origional find--- Hotair.com





http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=18741670&BRD=985&PAG=461&dept_id=569380&rfi=8


73-year-old rape victim: Security, independence, privacy, pet all gone
By: Heather Nann Collins, Journal Inquirer
08/23/2007

For a 73-year-old disabled East Hartford woman, the life she had before Alejandro Cuy Xum raped and beat her early one morning is gone forever.
Gone, she told a Hartford Superior Court judge on Wednesday, are her sense of safety and security.

Gone are the friendships she had with her neighbors at the Willow Arms apartment complex on Main Street.

Gone is her independence: Since the attack, she has moved to an assisted living facility, where instead of privacy and a home filled with a lifetime of memories she shares a room with another person and must confine her personal items to one dresser.And gone too is the canine companion that Cuy Xum also beat when he sneaked into the woman's apartment just after 4 a.m. on July 18, 2005."When someone invades your home and there is nothing you can do to protect yourself, you feel terribly vulnerable," she wrote in a statement to Judge Thomas P. Miano.

The woman - who is confined to an electric wheelchair and tethered to an oxygen tank - was accompanied by her daughter, who read her mother's three-page statement at Cuy Xuy's sentencing Wednesday."I am afraid of people in a way I never have been before," the woman wrote. "My confidence in most things is gone. That part of my life ended."

In a plea deal Cuy Xum, 27, was convicted in July of first-degree sexual assault, first-degree burglary, and assault on an elderly person.Cuy Xum also was convicted of second-degree burglary for a break-in at a home near the woman's apartment the night before the rape.

In that case, Cuy Xum crept into the sleeping homeowner's bedroom, rifled through the man's trousers that were hanging over a chair, and stole from his wallet. He also took a ring, prosecutor Edward R. Narus told Miano.

Narus had sought a 25-year prison sentence for Cuy Xum, a Guatemalan native who had illegally been in the United States for less than a month when he was arrested by East Hartford police.It wasn't an unreasonable request, Narus said, given the "savage attack" by Cuy Xum.

The woman's electric wheelchair was parked next to her bed, Narus said, making it obvious to anyone that she was vulnerable and essentially defenseless. Rather than simply taking whatever valuables he could and leaving the apartment, Cuy Xum responded to the woman's vulnerability by raping and beating her."The violence he then inflicted upon her was totally gratuitous in every sense of the word," Narus said.

And Narus made reference to the June 23 break-in at a Chesire home that ended with a mother and her two daughters murdered and the father's savage beating. Two of the dead were sexually assaulted. Police there have charged a pair of career burglars who now face the death penalty."We can all understand the fear," Narus said. "While we might be in our home, people can enter and do what they will."But Miano said he considered a host of factors in reducing Cuy Xum's sentence to 20 years to serve, including his low IQ and other mental health issues, and potential problems with police searches done after the fact.

Nevertheless, the judge noted, the "devastating act that just affronts humanity" committed by Cuy Xum won't likely be erased for the woman, even with a lengthy prison sentence for her attacker."No one can appreciate what that lady has gone through," Miano said. "It's much more painful than the bruises. No one should be subjected to that - no one."With the assistance of a Spanish interpreter, Cuy Xum repeatedly asked for forgiveness and apologized for what he did.And his lawyer, Public Defender William C. O'Connor, said the 20-year sentence handed down by the court very likely will be exactly that - not the 85 percent some defendants serve before they're paroled.Given the Chesire case and the current lawmakers' response - some are calling for 25-year mandatory minimum sentences for home invasions and an examination of parole policies is under way - Cuy Xum "is never going to get parole in a case like this."After Cuy Xum serves his prison sentence, Narus said, it is very likely he will be deported to Guatemala.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Sanctuary cities listed

see below......




http://www.billoreilly.com/blog;jsessionid=A55E83A4735C4B51DAEA96C523444510?action=viewBlog&blogID=362056141532353188

Sanctuary cities and counties
August 23, 2007
Below is a list of cities and counties that have sanctuary policies, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service from June 2007.

Alaska
Anchorage
Fairbanks

Arizona
Chandler

California
Fresno
Los Angeles
San Diego
San Francisco
Sonoma County

Connecticut
New Haven

Illinois
Evanston
Cicero

Massachusetts
Cambridge
Orleans

Maine
Portland

Maryland
Baltimore
Takoma Park

Michigan
Ann Arbor
Detroit

Minnesota
Minneapolis

North Carolina
Durham

New Mexico
Albuquerque
Aztec
Rio Arriba County
Santa Fe

New York
New York City

Oregon
Ashland
Gaston
Marion County

Texas
Austin
Katy

Washington
Seattle

Wisconsin
Madison

There are two statewide policies regarding providing sanctuary for illegal aliens:
In May 2003, Alaska's state legislature passed a joint resolution prohibiting state agencies from using resources or institutions for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration laws.
In 1987, Oregon passed a law that prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from using agency moneys, equipment or personnel for the purpose of detecting or apprehending foreign citizens based on violation of federal immigration law. Oregon law, however, does permit their law enforcement officers to exchange information with federal authorities to verify the immigration status of an individual arrested for criminal offenses.Most cities that are considered sanctuary cities have adopted a "don't ask-don't tell" policy where they don't require their employees, including law enforcement officers, to report to federal officials aliens who may be illegally present in the country. Localities, and in some cases individual police departments, in such areas that are considered "sanctuary cities," have utilized various mechanisms to ensure that unauthorized aliens who may be present in their jurisdiction illegally are not turned in to federal authorities. Some municipalities address the issue through resolutions, executive orders or city ordinances, while many police departments address the issues through special orders, departmental policy and general order.
Posted by BillOReilly.com Staff at 5:28 PM

New details on NJ executions

More details, how much longer will the good people of the USA tollerate these Criminals amongst us. Nasty stuff below if the facts prove out. Since the govm't is unwilling to protect you, be armed and be villigiant!


read on, dusgusting as it may be......
McClain said the mortician told him he had to work for three days to put his grand-niece’s face back together.



http://michellemalkin.com/2007/08/23/the-newark-massacre-new-details-of-the-heinous-crimeand-how-to-contact-your-state-attorney-general-to-help-stop-the-criminal-alien-revolving-door/

The Newark massacre:
New details of the heinous crime…and how to contact your state attorney general to help stop the criminal alien revolving door
By Michelle Malkin • August 23, 2007 05:28 AM
Update:
Near the site of 3 killings, a couple can only ask why
***Local NY/NJ media outlets reported chilling new details about the attack by criminal aliens on young Newark students Iofemi Hightower, Doshen Harvey, Terrance Aeriel, and Natasha Aeriel. From today’s NYPost:
The thugs who shot four college students in Newark reportedly preceded their sick attack by trying to sexually assault their two female victims.
The group of six assailants - who shot two men and a woman dead and wounded another woman - failed in their attempt at a sexual attack, and then decided to kill their victims, according to 1010 WINS radio.
Six suspects have now been charged in the Aug. 4 atrocity, in which the victims were blasted execution-style.
Yesterday, a family member of one of the slain victims, Iofemi Hightower, described the level of savagery of the attack. He said the thugs used a machete to hack their victims.
“They cut my niece’s face off,” said John McClain, who is Hightower’s great-uncle, and the chaplain of the Newark Police Department. “They cut her from cheek to cheek. They left her head hanging.”
McClain said the mortician told him he had to work for three days to put his grand-niece’s face back together.
“Most people couldn’t tell, when he was done, but the family could tell,” he said.
If this monstrous evil doesn’t motivate you to get off your duff and do something to stop the criminal alien revolving door in your neighborhood, I don’t know what will.
Here’s a transcript I typed up of a radio report aired yesterday on
1010WINS by Steve Sandberg (hat tip - James):
Sources tell 1010WINS three of the college kids were being held at gunpoint as their attackers went after the fourth. With every breath, the young woman bravely fought off a sexual assault, so much so the assailant gave up and shot her [survivor Natasha Ariel] in the head.
Sources say they moved in on the other woman, pulling a machete, slashing and marking up her face and forehead, sexually assaulting her [Iofemi Hightower].
Defensive wounds on her arms and hands show how valiantly she resisted. In the end, she and her two friends were forced to kneel before a wall, face first, all three executed with bullets to the back of their heads.
Law enforcement sources familiar with gangs say this vicious attack has MS-13 written all over it, similar in its brutality to massacres they’ve committed throughout Latin America. Once convinced this was a robbery gone bad, officials have since conceded several of the suspects have MS-13 affiliations and are now, say sources, giving gang motivations strong consideration.
Other local media have also heard more from sources about the MS-13 angle and the sexual assaults and knife attacks on both female victims.
WABC-7:
Even while Rodolfo Godinez waits in protective custody for an extradition hearing, a source tells Eyewitness News that the evidence appears to be growing that he is an MS-13 gang leader who ordered the murderers of the three college students.
Some who knew the suspects say they were destined for trouble. “They’d just mess with anybody,” an acquaintance of the suspects said. “They don’t care if they’re Spanish, black, white, they’d mess with anybody. They don’t care who it is.”
In addition, a source tells Eyewitness News that there are more troublesome details about the murders of Iofemi Hightower, Doshen Harvey and Terrance Aeriel, and the attempted murder of Natasha Aeriel. It appears that the women were also the victims of sexual attacks.
Authorities believe at least one was groped, which apparently escalated the tension and led to a knife attack and, finally, the executions.
There have been references over the last week to
possible machete use in previous stories about this case, but it is worth underscoring what Sandberg’s sources told him given the stubborn denial by some officials to acknowledge the criminal alien gang imprint head on:
“…this vicious attack has MS-13 written all over it.”
Over the past several years, I’ve written before about
MS-13 machete attacks in northern Virginia (more here and here and here and here. Last month, a convicted MS-13 gang member in the DC area who had served 18 months for gang stabbings was convicted again after being stopped with machetes on the way to another gang battle. In December 2004, I blogged:
“I think this El Salvador-based gang’s ascendance was one of the underreported stories of the year. I predict you’ll be seeing and hearing a lot more of this savage criminal enterprise in the year to come–and not just because of its suspected ties to al Qaeda. The gang has spread across the country–not just in major metropolitan areas, but in suburbs like my own backyard. Machete-wielding members have also settled in North Carolina, Nassau County, NY, and Boston. And if you think MS-13 members are only a threat to each other, think again.”
To rid our cities of this evil scourge, mayors and governors and law enforcers must acknowledge their role in allowing it to fester.The NJ state attorney general took a
step in the right direction in ordering all NJ law enforcers to notify federal immigration officials whenever someone arrested for an indictable offense or drunken driving is found to be an illegal immigrant. The toll of sanctuary cities has been too high, but belated action to stop the bloody madness is better than no action at all.
Now, it is time for every state attorney general across the country to do as NJ State Attorney General Anne Milgram has done. Contact yours now and let me know the responses you get. We’ll be keeping track at
DeportThemNow.com:
Alabama: Troy King (R) (334) 242-7300State House, 11 S. Union St. Montgomery, AL 36130
http://www.ago.state.al.us
Alaska: Talis J. Colberg (R) (907) 465-3600P.O. Box 110300, Diamond Courthouse, Juneau, AK 99811-0300http://www.law.state.ak.us/
Arizona: Terry Goddard (D) (602) 542-42661275 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007http://www.azag.gov/
Arkansas: Dustin McDaniel (D) (800) 482-8982200 Tower Bldg., 323 Center St., Little Rock, AR 72201-2610http://www.ag.arkansas.gov/
California: Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr. (D) (916) 445-95551300 I St., Ste. 1740, Sacramento, CA 95814http://ag.ca.gov
Colorado: John Suthers (R) (303) 866-45001525 Sherman Street, Denver, CO 80203http://www.ago.state.co.us/index.cfm
Connecticut: Richard Blumenthal (D) (860) 808-531855 Elm St., Hartford, CT 06141-0120http://www.ct.gov/ag/
Delaware: Joseph R. “Beau” Biden III (D) (302) 577-8338Carvel State Office Bldg., 820 N. French St., Wilmington, DE 19801http://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/
District of Columbia: Linda Singer (D) (202) 724-1305John A. Wilson Building, 1350 PA Ave, NW Suite 409, Washington, DC 20009http://occ.dc.gov
Florida: Bill McCollum (R) (850) 414-3300The Capitol, PL 01, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050http://myfloridalegal.com/
Georgia: Thurbert E. Baker (D) (404) 656-330040 Capitol Square, SW, Atlanta, GA 30334-1300http://ganet.org/ago/
Hawaii: Mark J. Bennett (R) (808) 586-1500425 Queen St., Honolulu, HI 96813http://www.state.hi.us/ag/index.html
Idaho: Lawrence Wasden (R) (208) 334-2400Statehouse, Boise, ID 83720-1000http://www2.state.id.us/ag/
Illinois: Lisa Madigan (D) (312) 814-3000James R. Thompson Ctr., 100 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/
Indiana: Steve Carter (R) (317) 232-6201Indiana Government Center South - 5th Floor, 402 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204http://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/
Iowa: Tom Miller (D) (515) 281-5164Hoover State Office Bldg., 1305 E. Walnut, Des Moines, IA 50319http://www.IowaAttorneyGeneral.org
Kansas: Paul Morrison (D) (785) 296-2215120 S.W. 10th Ave., 2nd Fl., Topeka, KS 66612-1597http://www.ksag.org/home/
Kentucky: Greg Stumbo (D) (502) 696-5300State Capitol, Rm. 116, Frankfort, KY 40601http://ag.ky.gov
Louisiana: Charles Foti (D) 225-326-6000P.O. Box 94095, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4095http://www.ag.state.la.us/
Maine: G. Steven Rowe (D) (207) 626-8800State House Station 6, Augusta, ME 04333http://www.state.me.us/ag
Maryland: Douglas F. Gansler (D) (410) 576-6300200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202-2202http://www.oag.state.md.us
Massachusetts: Martha Coakley (D) (617) 727-22001 Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108-1698http://www.ago.state.ma.us
Michigan: Mike Cox (R) (517) 373-1110P.O.Box 30212, 525 W. Ottawa St., Lansing, MI 48909-0212http://www.michigan.gov/ag
Minnesota: Lori Swanson (D) (651) 296-3353State Capitol, Ste. 102, St. Paul, MN 55155http://www.ag.state.mn.us
Mississippi: Jim Hood (D) (601) 359-3680Department of Justice, P.O. Box 220, Jackson, MS 37205-0220http://www.ago.state.ms.us/
Missouri: Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon (D) (573) 751-3321Supreme Ct. Bldg., 207 W. High St., Jefferson City, MO 65101http://www.ago.mo.gov/
Montana: Mike McGrath (D) (406) 444-2026Justice Bldg., 215 N. Sanders, Helena, MT 59620-1401http://www.doj.mt.gov
Nebraska: Jon Bruning (R) (402) 471-2682State Capitol, P.O.Box 98920, Lincoln, NE 68509-8920http://www.ago.state.ne.us/
Nevada: Catherine Cortez Masto (D) (775) 684-1100Old Supreme Ct. Bldg., 100 N. Carson St., Carson City, NV 89701http://ag.state.nv.us/
New Hampshire: Kelly Ayotte (R) (603) 271-3658State House Annex, 33 Capitol St., Concord, NH 03301-6397http://www.state.nh.us/nhdoj/
New Mexico: Gary King (D) (505) 827-6000P.O. Drawer 1508, Sante Fe, NM 87504-1508http://www.ago.state.nm.us
New York: Andrew Cuomo (D) (518) 474-7330Dept. of Law - The Capitol, 2nd fl., Albany, NY 12224http://www.oag.state.ny.us
North Carolina: Roy Cooper (D) (919) 716-6400Dept. of Justice, P.O.Box 629, Raleigh, NC 27602-0629http://www.ncdoj.com/default.jsp
North Dakota: Wayne Stenehjem (R) (701) 328-2210State Capitol, 600 E. Boulevard Ave., Bismarck, ND 58505-0040http://www.ag.state.nd.us
Ohio: Marc Dann (D) (614) 466-4320State Office Tower, 30 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43266-0410http://www.ag.state.oh.us
Oklahoma: W. A. Drew Edmondson (D) (405) 521-3921State Capitol, Rm. 112, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105http://www.oag.state.ok.us
Oregon: Hardy Myers (D) (503) 378-4732Justice Bldg., 1162 Court St., NE, Salem, OR 97301http://www.doj.state.or.us
Pennsylvania: Tom Corbett (R) (717) 787-33911600 Strawberry Square, Harrisburg, PA 17120http://www.attorneygeneral.gov
Rhode Island: Patrick Lynch (D) (401) 274-4400150 S. Main St., Providence, RI 02903http://www.riag.state.ri.us
South Carolina: Henry McMaster (R) (803) 734-3970Rembert C. Dennis Office Bldg., P.O.Box 11549, Columbia, SC 29211-1549http://www.scattorneygeneral.org
South Dakota: Larry Long (R) (605) 773-32151302 East Highway 14, Suite 1, Pierre, SD 57501-8501http://www.state.sd.us/attorney/
Tennessee: Robert E. Cooper, Jr. (D) (615) 741-5860500 Charlotte Ave., Nashville, TN 37243http://www.attorneygeneral.state.tn.us
Texas: Greg Abbott (R) (512) 463-2100Capitol Station, P.O.Box 12548, Austin, TX 78711-2548http://www.oag.state.tx.us
Utah: Mark Shurtleff (R) (801) 538-9600State Capitol, Rm. 236, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-0810http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/
Vermont: William H. Sorrell (D) (802) 828-3173109 State St., Montpelier, VT 05609-1001http://www.state.vt.us/atg
Virginia: Bob McDonnell (R) (804) 786-2071900 E. Main St., Richmond, VA 23219http://www.oag.state.va.us
Washington: Rob McKenna (R) (360) 753-62001125 Washington St. SE, PO Box 40100, Olympia, WA 98504-0100http://www.atg.wa.gov/
West Virginia: Darrell V. McGraw Jr. (D) (304) 558-2021State Capitol, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. , E., Charleston, WV 25305http://www.wvago.us/
Wisconsin: J.B. Van Hollen (R) (608) 266-1221State Capitol, Ste. 114 E., P.O.Box 7857, Madison, WI 53707-7857http://www.doj.state.wi.us
Wyoming: Pat Crank (D) (307) 777-7841State Capitol Bldg., Cheyenne, WY 82002http://attorneygeneral.state.wy.us

Friday, August 17, 2007

That New Jersy Illegal

Finally getting around to this one. Maybe some MS13 activity?


http://media.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YzNmOTI0NGY4ODdjMTZiZDliNDZlYWNhYjllMGZhNWY=

Newark Massacre Update [Greg Pollowitz]
Judicial Watch has some good stuff on Newark, NJ as a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants and the consequences of that policy. An excerpt:

Dozens of cities across the nation have proudly become illegal immigrant sanctuaries, but officials in one municipality are pondering the status after a Peruvian man with a felony record massacred three college-bound students.

Had authorities in Newark New Jersey contacted federal immigration officials after illegal alien Jose Carranza’s first felony indictment last year he would have been deported and therefore prevented from murdering three innocent youngsters in a schoolyard this month.

Instead Carranza was released on bail, despite being charged with raping a 5-year-old girl and aggravated assault and weapons violations. This week he was charged with the gruesome execution-style murders of three college-bound students, ages 18 to 20.

The shootings evidently pushed Newark authorities to violate their sanctuary policy and contact federal immigration officials who had not been previously informed about Carranza’s crime spree. If they had, Carranza would have placed in removal proceedings after his first felony arrest in October 2006.
But like a growing number of municipalities across the nation, Newark is an official illegal immigrant “Sanctuary City” in which police cannot ask a suspect about immigration status. Other sanctuary havens include Detroit, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston and New Haven.
Some states—such as Alaska, Oregon and New Jersey—actually have blanket sanctuary laws. In fact, New Jersey passed legislation in 2006 that bars law enforcement agencies throughout the Garden State from asking about immigration status.
08/15 04:22 PM

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Illegals and sex slaves

Note: nowhere is it listed that these folks are legal or tourists.
In fact they are listed as Guatemalans and were paying off their smuggled visti to the US


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,292853,00.html?sPage=fnc.national/crime

9 Guatemalans Charged in L.A. for Alleged Role in Prostitution Ring
Friday, August 10, 2007

LOS ANGELES — Nine Guatemalans were indicted for their roles in an alleged
sex trafficking ring that lured young women to the United States with promises of good jobs and then forced them into prostitution, according to federal court records.

Four of the defendants pleaded not guilty in January to sex trafficking charges in the case. A superseding indictment, unsealed Thursday, includes more serious allegations that five of the 12 victims were minors.

According to the new 50-count indictment, the defendants at times sold Guatemalan women and girls to one another like slaves and allegedly brought the victims to witch doctors who threatened to put curses on them and their families if they ran away.

"These young women were enticed into coming to this country by promises of the American dream only to arrive and discover that what awaited was a nightmare," said Robert Schoch, a special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.


A federal grand jury in Los Angeles returned the indictment against Gladys Vasquez Valenzuela, 36; her sisters, Mirna Jeanneth, 26, and Albertina, 49; and Albertina's daughter, Maria Vicente de los Angeles, 28.

The four face charges of sex trafficking of minors; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; violating federal laws prohibiting interstate or foreign transport of minors for prostitution; and importing and harboring undocumented immigrants and harboring them for prostitution.
Five others also were charged in the indictment for their roles in the scheme, including guarding the women to prevent them from escaping, threatening their families in Guatemala, and beating and forcing the women to work, authorities said.

Four of the female defendants were arrested in December during raids in Los Angeles. One additional suspect, Flor Morales Sanchez, 33, was arrested Thursday. Six defendants remain in custody without bond. Another, Maribel Rodriguez Vasquez, is a fugitive.

A lawyer representing Luis Vicente Vasquez, 31, who faces counts of bringing women into the country illegally for prostitution, denies his client did anything wrong.

"We are going to court on this," attorney Philip Deitch said.

Attorney Errol Stambler, who represents Mirna Jeanneth Vasquez, said his client was a victim, not a trafficker. He said his own investigation revealed she had been forced into prostitution to repay smugglers who brought her to the U.S, and that her pimp forced her to house teenage prostitutes.

Messages left with two other attorneys representing defendants were not immediately returned.

The investigation began last year when two victims escaped with the help of a male customer and contacted authorities, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
Two other victims were rescued by investigators in November. Ten women at the locations raided also were believed to have been working as prostitutes

Another news story with illegals

No idea if any of the miners have survived in the Utah mine collapse.
I hope they all survive.
Say a little prayer for those trapped men.


First it was the Minnesota bridge collapse, now the Utah mine disaster. Are we that overrun with illegals that every tragety will involve an illegal?

Remember if the story doesn't say they are legal or tourists, they are illegals

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20146566/page/2/
Three Mexican citizens among missing
Little was known about the six miners; only one has been identified. The Mexican Consulate in Salt Lake City said three of the men are Mexican citizens.
In Huntington, 10 miles from the mine, residents were anxious for news, and the strain could be seen in their somber looks. The families of the trapped miners were sequestered at a junior high school in Huntington, about six miles from the mine, and police stood guard on the grounds.
LaRena Collards, 71, was making cakes for families of the trapped miners, just as she did in 1984 when a fire killed 27 people at another mine.
“You just ask the Lord to bless the families and give them the strength to get through this,” Collards said

illegal's in oddest news stories

Are we so over run with illegals that they are to pop up in otherwise non-illegal related news stories?

May he rest in peace.

But here are 2 more, this time wrapped up in the Minnesota bridge collapse

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-08-02-bridge-victims_N.htm

Five confirmed dead in Minneapolis bridge collapse
Updated
By Elizabeth Flores, Star Tribune via AP


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed five deaths Thursday from the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge. Seventy-nine people were injured. Police said the death count would surely grow because bodies had been spotted in the fast-moving currents. As many as 30 people were still reported missing. Here is a closer look at the lives lost:

ARTEMIO TRINIDAD-MENA
Artemio Trinidad-Mena, 29, lived in Minneapolis but was a Mexican citizen with a young family scattered across the two countries.

His widow, Abundia Martinez, told Radio Formula in a telephone interview that her husband was a vegetable salesman and that he was heading home at the time of the accident.

Martinez, who lives in Minneapolis with the couple's 2-month-old baby girl, said her husband arrived in the United States 10 years ago. She said she moved to Minneapolis from Mexico a year ago and that both were living in the Unites States illegally.

The couple has three other children, ages 11 to 2, living with relatives in their hometown of Ixcateopan de Cuauhtemoc, in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero, Martinez said.
"We're asking for financial help mainly because my children are in Mexico and I have a little girl here and more importantly because we want to send my husband's body to Mexico," she said, sobbing.

At New York Plaza Produce, where Trinidad-Mena worked, friends and family gathered Thursday night to remember him.
Julio Alvarado recalled a man with an outsize personality and a cheery outlook.
"He was very happy, always looking at everything in just a positive, good way," he said.
Alvarado said Trinidad Mena left work around 5:30 Wednesday night.
He was driving a pickup, which apparently caught fire after the bridge collapsed