Man deported to Mexico 7 times to stand trial in May for Hamilton slaying
Mar. 14—A man already deported to Mexico seven times after committing crimes will stand trial in Hamilton in May on charges he allegedly killed a Hamilton woman, Butler County Judge Jennifer McElfresh ordered this week.
Fermin Garcia-Gutierrez, 47, was arrested last April for the death of Fernando Reyna Oviedo, whose body was found in a garage. Shortly after Garcia-Gutierrez's arrest, Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said in a press conference the defendant has been deported seven times.
He is charged with charged with several felony counts, including aggravated murder and two counts of murder.
His attorney, Keith Fricker, filed multiple requests, including for medical records from the Butler County Jail, a use of force report and the jail calls Garcia-Gutierrez made to prepare for the upcoming trial.
The Journal-News reported in December the defendant's attorney said police violated his rights, and his alleged confession should be thrown out. In addition to the aggravated murder and murder charges, Garcia-Gutierrez is charged with two counts of felonious assault and kidnapping with a firearms specification.
Oviedo, 41, was found dead on April 1, 2024, after Hamilton police officers were called about a body in the 1100 block of South 13th Street. Investigators believe Garcia-Gutierrez committed the homicide before he was arrested on other charges.
He was arrested on March 16, 2024 on possession of drugs, carrying a concealed weapon, using weapons while intoxicated, and obstructing official business.
Fricker had previously moved to suppress evidence, claiming because Garcia-Gutierrez is illiterate and "the Hamilton detective interrogated the defendant knowing he was unable to read or write either (English or Spanish) and without the aid of an interpreter being present."
McElfresh eventually overruled the motion to suppress last month.
Both criminal cases will be tried the week of May 12, McElfresh ordered, and Garcia-Gutierrez has a $5 million cash or surety bond.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
22 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Shooting on Las Vegas Strip near Bellagio that killed 2 was livestreamed, police say
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The two people killed in a shooting over the weekend on the Las Vegas Strip captured it on video while livestreaming to their shared YouTube channel, according to a police report. The married victims were identified by the Clark County coroner's office as Tanisha Finley, 43, and Rodney Finley, 44. Both died of multiple gunshot wounds. Las Vegas police said the shooting on Sunday night near the landmark Bellagio fountains was an isolated incident between the victims and the suspect, who had been feuding on social media since at least 2023. The suspect, identified by police as Manuel D. Ruiz, surrendered to authorities Monday morning at a police station outside of Las Vegas. Ruiz, 41, faces two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and is being held without bail, jail records show. The Associated Press sent an emailed message Thursday seeking comment from his public defender. Ruiz told police after his arrest that he was acting in self-defense, according to his arrest report. The suspect is seen in the video livestream pulling a gun from his waistband, raising it and initially firing between five and six shots, according to a description of the video detailed in the report. One or two more gunshots can be heard in the video after Tanisha Finley is seen grabbing the cellphone that is being used for the livestream. 'The phone fell to the ground and remained still for a moment until a police officer appeared in the camera frame and turned off the livestream,' the report said. The couple's son was among the 911 callers to report the shooting, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. 'I heard gunshots around him,' he says. 'I think he might have got shot, so I was just trying to check and make sure, just try to see if he's OK or where he's at.' In his interview with police after he surrendered, the suspect said he also has a YouTube channel and had been livestreaming from the Strip on the night of the shooting. Ruiz told police began shooting because it looked like one of the victims was reaching for a weapon, according to the report. Police said no firearms were found on the victims. The shooting happened on one of the busiest stretches of the Strip. The dancing Bellagio fountains, which soar up to 460 feet (140 meters) into the air, play every 15 minutes on the weekends between 8 p.m. and midnight.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
H-2A visas for white South African workers have surged 1,300% since 2011
The country's H-2A program has grown in popularity as a response to farm labor shortages. Between 2018 and 2023, the number of applications for H-2A workers increased by 72%, according to a new analysis by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Screenshot taken Nov. 15, 2024, GAO official YouTube channel (Credit: Ben Felder / Investigate Midwest) Every year, hundreds of thousands of foreign workers come to the U.S. to fill temporary agricultural labor shortages through the H-2A program — a system first introduced in 1986 to address shortages in farmwork. From 2011 to 2024, the use of the program grew more than 400%, with nearly 90% of visas going to workers from Mexico. But the fastest-growing group is from South Africa – and predominantly white, according to private and federal lawsuits. While South Africans consist of only 3% of the program, their numbers have climbed by 1,300% according to data from the State Department between 2011 and 2024, and the rate of increase far outpaces any other nationality. The rapid rise has collided with legal scrutiny. Since 2022, the Mississippi Center for Justice, a law firm focused on advancing racial and economic justice, has filed seven lawsuits on behalf of Black farmworkers in Mississippi, alleging they were paid less than temporary workers from abroad who were mostly white men from South Africa. Each of those lawsuits were settled out of court with significant compensation and back pay, according to attorney Rob McDuff, who represented the plaintiffs. The latest case, filed in May, is still pending. 'This is the latest version of an age-old problem in America, in terms of the treatment of Black farmworkers,' McDuff said. The Department of Labor, under the Biden administration, conducted its own investigation following those initial lawsuits and found 44 additional agricultural employers in Mississippi to be in violation of the H-2A program's law. By 2023, the department's Wage and Hour Division had recovered $505,000 in back wages for 161 workers whose rights were violated. Employers were also required to pay an additional $341,838 in civil money penalties. The South African Chamber of Commerce in the USA, a non-partisan, independent organization and business association, promotes the work program to its citizens. After the lawsuits, the organization worked with the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa to make the H-2A program more inclusive and diverse. The federal government tracks the country of origin for visa holders, but does not collect data on which businesses hire those workers. Agricultural companies in the southeast host the largest number of H-2A workers in the nation. Because South Africans speak English and their growing and harvest seasons are the opposite of North America's, they make attractive candidates. 'You can get any nationality you want in H-2A, and we chose South Africans because their English is better,' Joel Brown, a farmer in Missouri, told Farm Progress. 'There are a lot of large farms in South Africa, and some of these guys are coming off those farms.' This article first appeared on Investigate Midwest and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
'A bit of a sixth sense': Video shows 'Bridgerton' actor stopping phone thief
'A bit of a sixth sense': Video shows 'Bridgerton' actor stopping phone thief Show Caption Hide Caption 'Bridgerton' actor fights off suspected phone thief Surveillance footage caught the moments as Genevieve Chenneour confronted a suspected thief in London. A London thief chose the wrong actor's phone to try and steal. "Bridgerton" actor Genevieve Chenneour, 27, went viral after a video captured her fight off a man who snatched her cell phone at a London cafe when she wasn't looking. Security footage shows the English performer sitting on Feb. 8 as a man grabs her device from her table while she's looking away. As he walks away, she quickly notices and does not hesitate to stop him. With the help of a bystander, Chenneour kicks and pushes the man to the ground, takes her phone back and appears to strike him with it. "I had a bit of a sixth sense that something wasn't quite right. As a woman, you have that kind of intuition," Chenneour said in an interview on the "This Morning" talk show. "I could feel people moving around me in a different way, but I only became aware of it once the incident had happened." Chenneour she believes the man had spent time picking the perfect target, which she quickly proved wasn't her. She explained that she remembers kicking him back with her leg to create distance in case he had a weapon on him. Looking back she understands that not everyone would have fought back, but said she instinctually opted to because of her experiences as a boxer and growing up with three brothers. "I thought that was a normal reaction, and then I read all the comments and realized actually a lot of people would just let them take the phone," she said. "It was just a life changing, crazy moment." Chenneour said she felt scared to leave home after incident While Chenneour managed to leave the business with her phone, she said the experience impacted her anxiety, making her more fearful to leave her home. "As a woman, we already have our wits about us around strangers and random men. So to have this happen to me while dealing with that probably base level that a lot of women have just made me quite agoraphobic," she said. She added that the experience opened up many conversations that made her more aware of how many people are afraid of being out in public. London's Metropolitan Police Service arrested an 18-year-old man who is set to be sentenced over theft and assault charges on June 17, according to BBC. Who is Genevieve Chenneour? Chenneour is 27-year-old English actor best known for her role in Netflix's "Bridgerton." In Season 3 of the hit romance show she plays Clara Livingston, a debutante at the start of the 1815 season. She is a former professional athlete who grew up in a military family, according to her IMDb page. She has prior experiences in dance, swimming and gymnastics and said she is a carded member of the American Boxing Association.
