Mover Mike

Why is this all there is in The Oregonian about the man who ran down Mary Denise Richey?

Police arrested 51-year old Rafael Avelino Gines of Milwaukie and booked him into the Clackamas County Jail on one count of felony hit and run. He was placed on an immigration hold by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

There are 619 words in the story and 38 devoted to Mr. Gines. It appears that Gines may be an illegal alien driving the car. Did he run because he had no illegal alien driver's license? Did he run because he would be deported? If he'd applied for a driver's license would he have been deported and thus the hit and run would never have happened?

Why did we trade Udoka to San Antonio who use him sparingly and we struggle with Outlaw, who most of the time is MIA in terms of scoring? I used 28 words to ask the question about Udoka!

So many questions!

Rafael Avelino Gines Mary Denise Richey Mover Mike

Update:

Jessica Bruder writing for The Oregonian updates the Mary Denise Richey hit and run story with this information about the driver,

Rafael Avelino Gines, 51, appeared Thursday in Clackamas County Circuit Court to hear charges of felony hit and run. If convicted, he would serve as much as 10 years in prison before an immigration judge decides whether to deport him, said Lorie Dankers, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman.

Gines told authorities he was originally from Mexico and lived in the United States illegally, Dankers said.

Mary Denise Richey, 40, of North Portland died Wednesday after she was struck trying to cross Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard near Gladstone.

Gines, who held a valid Oregon driver's license and had no criminal record in Oregon, later surrendered to police.

More questions: How did he get a valid driver's license if he was here illegally? Is it fake ID, meaning did he use fake information to get the license legally or is it a forgery? If convicted does he serve his term and then deported or id he deported upon conviction and never serve time in the U.S.? I wonder what questions the family of Mary Denise Richey might have. I've got one. How could you drag Richey, in a wheel chair, over 100 feet with your vehicle and not stop to see what you hit and render assistance?

Mary Denise Richey Rafael Avelino Gines Jessica Bruder

Update:

Jessica: Valid means it isn't a fake.

and he would serve time here prior to possible deportation.

Mike: In your opinion how would ICE get involved from the outset. I mean, if he had a valid driver's license, what would you guess was the "tell"?

Jessica busy on another story, referred me to ICE or the DMV.

Do you know how to reach ICE? What does ICE stand for? Ah yes, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Googgled ICE and I could find only a Seattle number that no one answered. Probably out chasing down illegal aliens. I decided to try the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. Found someone to answer my questions: The arresting officer probably ran the driver's license. It proved valid, BUT...the DMV is now sharing information and the name may not have been on a list of legals here, so it was flagged.

Apparently, it is easy to get forged or stolen documents to get a valid driver's license. However, if picked up by the police, a trace can be run that nails the illegal. So I guess that's why Senor Gines ran and left Mary Denise Richey for dead.

On Novenber 28th, wheelchair bound Mary Denise Richey was run down and abandoned. The hit and run driver was later identified as Rafael Avelino Gines, am illegal immigrant who carried a valid Oregon drivers license and was insured. On December 12th, Jessica Bruder writes that Gines was convicted of hit and run and sentenced to 16 months in prison.

After (51-year old) Gines hit Richey, he initially "pulled over but became scared, perhaps because of his legal status," then fled the scene and tried to cover up the damage to his van, said prosecutor Squire Bozorth.

Crash investigators determined that Gines was not speeding and would not have been able to see Richey, who was hidden by the silhouette of a TriMet bus south of the Boardman Avenue intersection, until his van was bearing down on her.

There is no mention of what will happen to Mr. Gines after he serves his term in prison. Bruder indicated in emails to me that Gines would probably be deported. It is sad that Mary Denise Richey has been taken from us and that Mr. Gines, trying to live as a U.S. Citizen, couldn't avoid hitting the victim. Even if he'd stopped she'd be dead and he'd still be deported. Maybe, God didn't want him to live in this country or maybe, God wants to break our hearts enough times so we will fix the problem.

Mary Denise Richey Rafael Avelino Gines Mover Mike

Update: