December 17, 2001
The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
Committee on the Judiciary
2138 Rayburn House Officer Building
Washington, D. C. 20515-6216
In Re: Written
Testimony from The Honorable Paul H. Thomson, Commonwealth’s Attorney
for the City of Winchester, Virginia, on the Issue
of Department of Justice Immigration Detention Policies.
Dear Chairman Sensenbrenner:
My name is Paul H. Thomson and I am the prosecuting attorney
for the small city of Winchester, Virginia.
I prosecuted the case of Commonwealth of Virginia v. Edward
Nathaniel Bell, Winchester Circuit Court Docket No. 99-CR-478, Virginia
Supreme Court Appellate Record No. 011777(2001). In this case, the defendant was sentenced to
death on May 31, 2001, for the murder of Winchester Police Officer Sergeant
Rick Timbrook while he was in the line of duty.
The facts of this case demonstrate in stark terms the need for
immigration detention reform.
On October 30, 1999, Winchester Police Officer Sgt. Rick
Timbrook was shot in the face at close range and killed by resident alien
Edward Nathaniel Bell as Timbrook attempted to arrest him. At the time of the killing, Bell was at
liberty on a $3,500 bond pending a removal proceeding in the Immigration Court,
Arlington, Virginia. The I.N.S. had
arrested, charged and detained Bell on the grounds that he violated Section
237(a)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (as amended) in that he
had been convicted of a weapons offense in Winchester on August 26, 1997.
The defendant Eddie Bell was admitted into the United States of
America as a resident alien in 1992 from his native country of Jamaica. On May 16, 1997, while living in Winchester,
Eddie Bell was caught in possession of a concealed and loaded handgun by the
very officer he murdered two years later - Sgt. Rick Timbrook. Bell was convicted of this offense in
Winchester Circuit Court on August 26, 1997.
Bell was arrested by I.N.S. agents on September 17, 1998, and was
detained on $6,500 bail pending removal and deportation proceedings. Bell requested that the Immigration judge
reduce his bail and it was reduced to $3,500 on October 8, 1998. He made bond at this amount and he was
released on October 9, 1998.
Bell began fighting the removal proceedings. He obtained several continuances from the
Immigration Court throughout 1998 and 1999.
During the pendency of these proceedings, not only did Bell shoot and
kill Sgt. Timbrook, but he also committed other crimes that he failed to reveal
on a subsequent application to become naturalized. Bell was scheduled for a final hearing in
Immigration Court on November 2, 1999, several days after he killed the police
officer.
Based on my extensive experience with this case, I came to the
firm conclusion that any alien caught committing a weapons offense as
defined in Section 921(a) of Title 18, United States Code, should be detained
without benefit of bond during removal proceedings. Further, these removal proceedings could be
accellerated on the Court docket for speedy disposition of cases involving
dangerous resident aliens. Dangerous
criminals like Bell have no business being released. They have a great motive to seek revenge as
happened here, or to run.
Obviously, tougher pre-trial detention and release requirements
would have seriously impaired Bell’s ability to greatly harm law enforcement
officers and the community. However, detention
eliminates all the risk of harm and would save precious I.N.S. resources. For example, releasing a defendant on bond
pending removal presents I.N.S. agents with the difficult task of tracking down
potentially dangerous criminals who are motivated to kill government agents associated
with their deportation proceedings.
Also, the Immigration pre-trial supervision of Bell was
non-existent. There was no home
electronic monitoring or other meaningful intensive reporting requirements or
curfew. The time of the murder was
midnight on October 30, 1999. At this
time, Bell was on the street in Winchester driving a stolen car, in possession
of cocaine with the intent to distribute it, and in possession of a handgun
with extra ammunition. Further, Bell was
well known to constantly display his hatred towards police and Sgt. Timbrook in
particular.
In conclusion, my narrow recommendation is that federal law be
changed so aliens who are charged with committing weapons offenses be
immediately detained and they should not be afforded bail pending deportation
hearings. In the alternative, federal
law should provide for a strong presumption of no bond unless and until a
thorough backgound investigation is completed by I.N.S. agents in cooperation
with local law enforcement. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Paul Hampton Thomson
Commonwealth’s Attorney for the
City of Winchester, Virginia
PHT/lh