(Brecksville, Ohio - Frebruary 24, 2011)
SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS, I-77: A pair of Hispanic males were detained by Brecksville police following a routine traffic stop on Interstate 77 Feb. 16.
The pair were riding in a blue Ford pickup truck that lacked a properly visible rear license plate. The driver, in broken English, explained that he bought the truck in Nevada. He provided documentation of the purchase and the salvage title. The tag however, was only good to transport the truck from Nevada to Illinois.
The man’s license indicated that he was 31-year-old resident of Washington. The passenger had a library card but gave a birth date indicating that he was 29.
When questioned about his easterly detour from Illinois, the driver said he owned a painting company and was picking up some tools from an Independence hotel and was transferring them to a job in Michigan.
He told officers that there was nothing illegal in the truck and consented to a search. Officers found several forms of identification with photos of both the driver and passenger but with different Social Security numbers and from different states.
The men were taken to the station until their proper identification could be determined. Police spoke with a Cleveland Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who spoke with the men. She determined that the men were undocumented aliens and in the country illegally. She requested that they be held pending further investigation and arranged to transport them Feb. 17...
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