Apr 2, 2008 9:02 pm US/Mountain
Key Witness Takes Stand In ICE Agent Trial
DENVER (CBS4) ―
A key witness took the stand Wednesday in the trial of federal immigration agent Cory Voorhis.
John Marshall was the campaign manager for Bob Beauprez during his unsuccessful 2006 for governor of Colorado on the Republican ticket.
Prosecutors began their questioning of Marshall by pointing out that he spoke to the FBI in October, 2006, but has declined to speak with government attorneys in preparation for this trial.
Marshall recounted how he was contacted by Voorhis. The immigration agent had read a news article about Democratic candidate Bill Ritter's claim that he was tough on illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes. Ritter was district attorney for Denver prior to becoming governor.
Marshall told the court that at a meeting, Voorhis told him that Ritter had plea bargained many cases down to "Farmland Trespass," so that the individuals could avoid deportation. Marshall said Voorhis told him, "Don't take my word for it, look in public records."
The Beauprez campaign had court records checked and came back to Voorhis with a list of cases. The case of Walter Ramo was of particular interest, according to Marshall, when they learned Ramo was later charged with sexual assault on a child in California following his release in Denver.
Marshall said they were provided with information on Ramos' date of birth, aliases, alien and FBI numbers. The campaign was then able to confirm that Ramos was later arrested in San Francisco on charges involving sexual assault on a child.
A TV commercial was played for the jury attacking Ritter over his handling of the Ramos/Estrada case.
In cross examination, defense attorneys produced documents that showed the information Voorhis had allegedly provided from the FBI computer was available in public records.
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