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Alfredo Salgado Salas
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by Michelle Wolf
Alfredo Salgado Salas of Glennville was found to be in violation of his probation by committing the new offense of perjury. The finding was made during court proceedings held Tuesday, November 10, at the Tattnall County Judicial Annex in Reidsville. Judge Robert L. Russell revoked Salas’ probation on three previous convictions, and ordered him to serve the remainder of those sentences in prison. The previous convictions included felony burglary, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, criminal damage to property, possession of cocaine, and obstruction of a law enforcement official.
Part of Salas’ probation had included the stipulation that he was not to violate the laws of any government unit.
Jeff Rogers, Salas’ probation officer, testified that Salas had acknowledged verbally and in writing that he understood the conditions of his probation. On November 27, 2008, Salas was released from the probation detention center into the custody of Immigration and Customs officials. He was later deported to Mexico.
“During a hearing for his previous crimes, he had been sworn in and was asked, ‘are you a United States citizen.’ He answered, ‘no.’ After he was deported, he re-entered the United States. The Immigration Service was looking for him, and a probation warrant was issued,” Rogers testified.
Special Agent Richard McManaway with Immigration and Customs testified that his office was contacted by the Tattnall County Sheriff’s Office requesting assistance in locating and capturing Salas, who was back in the Glennville area, and was suspected of committing several home burglaries.
After an extensive manhunt lasting 47 days, Salas was arrested on outstanding warrants on Friday, September 11, 2009, by the Tattnall County Sheriff’s Office. He was arrested without incident at the La Joya store located on Hwy. 1 and Hwy. 15 in Toombs County. The Tattnall County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in the arrest by the Toombs County Sheriff’s Office, the Glennville Police Department, the Georgia State Patrol, the Georgia Department of Corrections K-9 Units, the Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Reidsville Police Department.
“Once he was captured, we discovered he had a Texas birth certificate, a Texas drivers license, and a Social Security card issued to him in the state of Texas. The information was authenticated and verified by the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics that Alfredo Salas was a United States citizen. After we had the information verified, we discovered that he had lied about his citizenship in all previous interviews,” McManaway stated.
Lt. Kevin Keyfauver with the Tattnall County Sheriff’s Office testified that at the time Salas was captured, he was notified that Salas had some documentation papers with him, but Lt. Keyfauver didn’t know at the time if they were legitimate.
“We questioned Salas about multiple burglaries, of which he denied most of them, although he did admit to one of them in that he took food from a refrigerator on a carport. We did not talk about his immigration status. We focused on his 47 days running from the law,” Keyfauver stated to the court.
The charges of illegal re-entry into the U.S. against Salas were dropped. His attorney, Maurice Joseph, is seeking a plea bargain with the District Attorney’s office on the pending charges of burglary and entering an auto at 323 Love’s Chapel Road in Glennville.
When Salas was asked by Judge Russell if he wanted to say anything, Salas denied that he had lied about being an American citizen.
“I was being chased by the police, and I was in fear for my life. Three years ago, two officers beat me up. About the perjury, I never remember saying that I was an illegal alien. They knew I worked at Fort Stewart, and that there was no way I could have worked there if I was not a citizen. I am sorry for what I did during those 47 days,” Salas said. .
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