Pubdate: Thu, 10 May 2007
Source: Charlotte Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2007 The Charlotte Observer
Contact:  http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/78
Author: Sarah Ovaska/ (Raleigh) News & Observer

SUSPECT FREED AFTER ACCOUNT OF FORCED PHOTO IN SOMBRERO

RALEIGH -- A Raleigh-based Drug Enforcement Administration agent made 
a Hispanic suspect put on a sombrero and hold a Mexican flag and then 
took his picture, the suspect's attorney said.

The defense attorney, Jeff Cutler, said a prosecutor and law 
enforcement officers confirmed the existence of the 2005 photograph 
of Jorge Hernandez-Villalvazo during a pre-trial meeting last week. 
Within minutes, the prosecutor offered a plea deal, avoiding a trial 
and freeing Hernandez-Villalvazo.

Hernandez-Villalvazo left the Wake County jail Friday, two years 
after his arrest on a charge of conspiring to traffic cocaine. "They 
humiliated him," Cutler said.

Wake District Attorney Colon Willoughby, whose office handled the 
case, said the photo was a mistake. "It shouldn't have happened," he 
said. DEA officials on Wednesday would not identify the agent or 
release the photo. No cocaine was seized from Hernandez-Villalvazo, 
Cutler said. He said his client turned down a previous plea deal for 
a three-to four-year sentence because he was innocent.
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