A federal judge dropped charges against an Opelika Mexican restaurant manager on Friday for insufficient evidence of hiring illegals.
Federal law enforcement arrested Isaac Fernandez-Lopez recently on suspicion of harboring illegal aliens and hiring aliens as part of multiple raids on Mexican restaurants throughout Alabama.
However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Chad Bryan discharged Fernandez-Lopez and dropped the charges against him on Friday.
Bryan said that “no evidence was presented to link Defendant Fernandez-Lopez to the hiring of any employees (illegally or not)” in an order on Friday. Other suspects in the case have hearings scheduled this week.
“Nothing in the record suggests that Defendant Fernandez-Lopez solicited any employees, interviewed any employees, or extended offers to any employees. And apparently none of the interviewed employees made any statements to that effect or were asked whether Defendant Fernandez-Lopez had been involved in their hiring,” Bryan said in the order. “Although one or more of the employees did identify Defendant Fernandez-Lopez as a 'manager,' the evidence reflects that the El Patron restaurant had at least three managers and possibly more. Given the lack of evidence as to delegated responsibilities, along with the language barrier with the interviewed employees, the court would have to engage in utter speculation to assume that Defendant Fernandez-Lopez was vested with some type of hiring authority—even if he might have been viewed by certain employees as a 'manager.'"
He added, “It is the court’s obligation at this threshold stage to determine whether sufficient evidence has been presented to establish probable cause that Defendant Fernandez-Lopez committed either of the violations charged in the Criminal Complaint.”
“The court concludes that the Government has not satisfied that burden,” Bryan said. “In short, the current evidence only would establish probable cause that Defendant Fernandez-Lopez was considered a 'manager' at the El Patron restaurant and that the restaurant itself hired employees who lacked proper legal status. The current evidence will not support a reasonable belief that Defendant Fernandez-Lopez personally engaged in such illegal conduct. That said, nothing herein should be viewed as a predetermination that different evidence might support probable cause for the current charges or that the current evidence might support probable cause for different charges. It simply is apparent to the court that the current evidence does not support probable cause for the current charges.”
Fernandez Lopez by Caleb Taylor on Scribd
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