Latest news with #PerrysburgPoliceDivision
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ohio High Schooler Was Actually 24-Year-Old Man Who Overstayed Visa: Police
A 24-year-old Venezuelan man is accused of fraudulently enrolling himself in an Ohio high school as a 16-year-old, which allowed him to stay in the U.S. undetected for over a year until a woman came forward last week, contending that he is the father of her child. Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra was arrested near Toledo on forgery charges Monday and also faces a detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement after allegedly overstaying a work visa that expired in 2023, local and federal authorities said. According to police records, Labrador Sierra enrolled himself in Perrysburg High School in late 2023 using a fake birth certificate that listed him as born in Venezuela as Anthony Labrador on Dec. 2, 2007. He allegedly told school officials that he was unhoused and trafficked into the U.S. Under the federal McKinney-Vento Act, passed in 1987, public schools are required to enroll unaccompanied minors without standard enrollment paperwork. He was taken in by a local couple, known for adopting and housing exchange students, who helped him legally obtain an Ohio driver's license and a Social Security card, according to a Perrysburg Police Division incident report obtained by HuffPost. Over the next 16 months, Labrador Sierra attended classes and participated in extracurricular activities, including junior varsity soccer and swimming. He also obtained Temporary Protective Status through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services using a fraudulent birth certificate, Perrysburg Schools said in a statement. 'Our school district—along with state and federal agencies—were misled by an intentional act of fraud,' the school system said. It wasn't until last week, May 14, that a 22-year-old Toledo woman came forward, identifying Labrador Sierra to his local guardians as a 24-year-old man and the father of her child, police said. The woman allegedly shared a photo of an Ohio driver's license and Social Security card showing Labrador Sierra's full name and a birthday of March 27, 2001. She also shared photos from Facebook showing her with him and a small child. Labrador Sierra's guardians immediately alerted his school about the fraud allegations, and the next day, school officials said they confronted him about it. He denied the allegations but was still directed to stay off school property until a district review, the school system said. Later, police said the school system provided authorities with pictures of several Facebook posts by a woman who identified herself as Labrador Sierra's mother. The woman on March 27 posted a photo of him wearing a Perrysburg soccer uniform and wished him a happy birthday. Further investigation found that a vehicle Labrador Sierra owned was registered to Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra under his old Ohio driver's license. Border Patrol accused that same individual of overstaying his work visa in 2023, the same year that he enrolled in the local high school, police said. He was taken into custody during a traffic stop on Monday. Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, celebrated Labrador Sierra's arrest and detainer in a statement, claiming he is 'no longer able to prey on the students of Perrysburg High School.' A police spokesperson told HuffPost on Thursday that the incident remains under investigation. It was not immediately clear whether Labrador Sierra had an attorney. Kid Rock Distances Himself From Nashville Restaurant After It Reportedly Dodged ICE Raid Democratic Rep. McIver Charged With Assault After Skirmish At ICE Center, New Jersey Prosecutor Says Trump Plans To Yank Officers From Ports And Borders To Help Juice Deportation Numbers Stop Comparing ICE To The Gestapo, Homeland Security Says
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
A 24-year-old Venezuelan man posed as a teenage homeless migrant and forged documents to enroll at an Ohio high school, officials say
A 24-year-old man was arrested Monday for allegedly forging documents to enroll in an Ohio high school, where he studied for over a year before the identity fraud was discovered, authorities said. Anthony Emmanuel Labrador Sierra enrolled at Perrysburg High School in January 2024 with a Venezuelan birth certificate showing he was 16 years old, claiming he was a homeless migrant who had been trafficked into the country, according to a Perrysburg Police Division incident report. Labrador Sierra started at the school and was eventually placed with a local family who had previously hosted exchange students, according to the police report. The host family was granted temporary and later permanent guardianship of Labrador Sierra in 2024, and they helped him with obtaining a social security number and driver's license while he was in their custody, according to the police report. He also used forged documents to obtain federal Temporary Protective Status (TPS) from US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Perrysburg Schools said in a statement. Migrants under TPS humanitarian relief are protected from being removed from the country or detained based on their immigration status, and may obtain legal employment, according to the USCIS website. Labrador Sierra's identity first came into question on May 14, when a woman contacted the guardian family and told them he was actually a 24-year-old man and the father of her child, police said. She sent them several photos: a driver's license and social security card with Labrador Sierra's name and a March 27, 2001, birth date; and several from Facebook showing her and Labrador Sierra, along with Labrador Sierra with a child. The guardians contacted the school district that evening, according to Perrysburg Schools. Administrators met with Labrador Sierra the following day and 'he denied the allegation and asserted that the birth certificate submitted during enrollment - which indicates he is currently 17 years old - was accurate,' the school's statement says. CNN has reached out to an attorney for Labrador Sierra for comment. 'Given the seriousness of the claim, Perrysburg Schools immediately directed the guardians to keep Labrador off school property while the matter was investigated further,' the school district said. During the course of the investigation, the district said it 'found social media posts by others, including those claiming to be Labrador Sierra's family.' Police said those posts include several from a Zulay Sierra, whom they believe to be Labrador Sierra's mother based on the birth certificate he provided to the school district. One of the posts she shared shows Labrador Sierra wearing a Perrysburg soccer uniform with the caption 'Happy birthday son,' according to police. It was dated March 27 – matching the birth date on the picture of the driver's license that the woman had sent the guardians, according to the police report. Police reached out to US Customs and Border Patrol and were told Labrador Sierra 'had an expired work visa and that he was considered an overstay in this country,' according to the police report. CBP told police his visa had expired in 2023, the year he reached out to enroll in high school, police said. The Perrysburg Township Police arrested Labrador Monday during a traffic stop on a forgery warrant. He was riding in the passenger seat of the car driven by the woman who had exposed his identity to his guardian family, according to the police report. CNN has reached out to the guardian family and the woman who contacted them for comment. Labrador Sierra was arraigned Tuesday, court records show. He pleaded not guilty to a forgery charge, a fifth-degree felony. His bond was set at $50,000, and his next court date is scheduled for May 29. He may soon be facing federal charges as well, according to US Customs and Border Protection. 'Labrador is an illegal alien who overstayed his visa and has no legal status. US Border Patrol placed an immigration detainer on him with the local police department,' a CBP spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. 'Federal charges are being pursued.' Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement confirming Labrador Sierra is from Venezuela and calling his actions 'disturbing.' McLaughlin said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, also lodged a detainer against him. The school district called the situation 'highly unusual,' but added that it 'is confident proper legal channels were followed to provide support for an individual presenting themselves as an unaccompanied minor…' CNN's Hanna Park contributed to this report.
