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Posted on 05/09/2011 11:18:38 PM PDT by The Magical Mischief Tour
ASHEVILLE — Antonio Hernandez Carranza took a wrong turn, and it turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes he’s ever made. The Carson, Calif., man had driven more than 2,000 miles — three days straight — to see his sister in Johnson City, Tenn.
But instead of reaching the home of his sister, whom he hadn’t seen in nearly a decade, the 45-year-old carpet cleaner found himself in the Buncombe County jail under a $300,000 bond on charges of driving while intoxicated, failing to heed police lights and sirens and possession of 91 pounds of cocaine.
He was released four days later after sheriff’s deputies realized Hernandez, who said he doesn’t drink at all, wasn’t intoxicated and that what was in the back of his truck was exactly what he had said — $400 worth of cheese, shrimp and tortilla and tamale dough meant as a gift to his sister.
Now struggling to reclaim his truck and dog that were taken away, Hernandez said he wants only to see his family and possibly get some compensation for his time and expenses.
While in jail, he called his wife, Bernice, to tell her that he could be facing 40 years in prison and may never see her or their two boys again. “She and the kids were crying. She was inconsolable,” Hernandez said through an interpreter.
Local residents affiliated with Latino advocacy groups say Hernandez, a legal resident who understands a fair amount of English but doesn’t speak it well, was targeted because of his ethnicity.
Deputies said Hernandez appeared drunk and they acted quickly to get narcotics test results after he was jailed.
Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Randy Smart acknowledged that four days in jail under an extremely high bond seemed a stiff penalty for failing to heed police lights and sirens, of which Hernandez was found guilty.
“It’s one of those things when you go back and look at it, it does seem a little harsh,” the Sheriff’s Office spokesman said.
Your statement lets me know that you are aware that the facts are not on your side.
Leftism and stupidity exist. I believe that they are both exhibited in the posted article and in some of the replies to this thread and so I said so and explained why.
Now, do you have something intelligent to say?
Just what I was thinking, probably “corn flour”. What do Tennesseans know about Mexican food, probably not much.
More geographic ignorance - this did not happen in Tennessee.
Is dat you, Beavis?
Look you started it by calling me ignorant let’s stop acting childish. I will if you will.
The taxpayers have the power to set how their law enforcement is run, who runs it, and who they employ.
Absolutely the taxpayer should pay through the nose. Hard.
If the taxpayer doesn’t like it, the taxpayer can put in a different sort of law enforcement. One where the chief or sheriff fires officers who do this crap, and where people never sit in jail for several days before someone notices it was flower and toxicology says the person was just tired. Where their stuff is released immediately, with an apology.
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