A repeat illegal immigrant was arrested on rape charges in Northern Virginia last week — just days after being released early on an indecent assault charge. WTTG-TV reported.
herndon police said They charged Dennis Humberto Navarrette Romero, 31, of no fixed address, with corruption and rape in connection with an incident that occurred on the night of Nov. 18 on the W&OD Trail between Ferndale Avenue and Grace Street. He was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping.
“It's frustrating because we're telling the community we're safe here…”
Police believe Romero had other victims, WTTG reported, adding that Romero is described as a repeat offender with a “troubled history.”
Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBord said Romero is a Honduran national who is in the U.S. illegally and has a record of sexual assault and lewd acts in the area in 2022. That's what he said.
Romero has been arrested and released multiple times, WTTG said, adding that in June 2022, he choked a Herndon police officer while responding to a molestation incident.
DeBord said Romero was charged with serious assault on a law enforcement officer in connection with the incident, but the Fairfax County attorney reduced the charge to simple assault, a misdemeanor, the station reported.
“So he literally put his hands around the officer's neck and tried to suffocate him, so we don't understand that,” DeBord said, according to WTTG.
The state's attorney did not explain the decision to drop the charges, but told WTTG that Romero was charged in the case and served a prison sentence as a result.
Romero was taken into custody on October 19th on indecent assault charges and sentenced to 50 days in jail, but the agency announced that he was released 25 days early on November 14th due to Virginia's “good conduct law.” did.
Four days later, Romero was arrested for raping a woman on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail in Herndon, WTTG reported.
Jennifer Pugh, the woman who filed the indecent exposure report in October, told the station about what she witnessed.
“He kept coming and trying to get my dog. Then he tried to chase me and said something. He didn't speak English, but all of a sudden he started pulling his stuff. “Pugh told WTTG. “I said, ‘There are Ring cameras all over the place,’ but he didn’t care.”
The agency said it has not yet confirmed whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement was notified of Romero's illegal presence after these incidents.
WTTG said the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office took him into custody after both incidents. According to the sheriff's office website, its policy is that “ICE is notified each time an illegal immigrant is taken into custody.”
“It's frustrating because I'm saying I want the community to feel safe here, and I believe they are safe here, and I really do,” DeBord told the station. , When an incident like this happens, I look at it and see if there are any parts.” If the system… everything worked together, if there was a way to make it work, this never would have happened. I don't think you can blame one place because the problem is collective. ”
The sheriff noted that inmates at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center will be fingerprinted and those fingerprints will be forwarded to the Commonwealth and submitted to federal law enforcement agencies, WTTG noted.
“In the 12-plus years that I've been chief of police, this is the only stranger rape that has occurred in this town,” DeBord said at a Tuesday news conference about Romero, according to the newspaper. new york post.
According to the paper, Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin criticized local authorities for allowing Romero to be released instead of being turned over to ICE and deported.
Police told WTTG that Romero is being held in the Adult Detention Center without bail.
You can view the video report here About the situation.
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