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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, May 16, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Biscayne NP Cuban Migrants Land On Adams Key A resident park ranger on Adams Key was awakened by the sound of people talking on his front porch just before 3 a.m. on Sunday, May 13th. Upon checking, he found 37 Cuban migrants who had recently been dropped off at the government dock on Adams Key, located approximately 10 miles from the mainland. The group consisted of men, women and children, all of whom were in good health. They said that they'd all been on a raft, but that they'd been picked up by a good Samaritan and taken to the dock. Since they were all dry and well dressed, their story did not seem plausible. Two other rangers arrived shortly thereafter, as did a Coast Guard vessel that took the migrants to park headquarters. They were handed over to Border Patrol officers at daybreak. Because of the government's "wet foot, dry foot" policy, all will likely remain in the United States. Under that policy, anyone caught on waters between Cuba and the U.S. is sent home or to a third country, whereas anyone who makes it to shore gets a chance to remain in the country and later apply for permanent residence status and U.S. citizenship. [Stephen Clark, Chief Ranger] Yellowstone NP Sentencing For Felony Assault On April 2nd, Montana resident C.R. was sentenced in federal court following his entering a guilty plea to a charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury (18 USC 113). He was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison, ordered to pay $9,172.81 in restitution to his victim, and placed on three years of supervised release following his prison term. The incident occurred on August 28, 2006, when rangers and special agents were called in to investigate an aggravated assault that had taken place in the concession housing area at Tower-Roosevelt. By the time they arrived, C.R. had left the area and his victim was in the hospital. Investigators determined that the victim had suffered serious and permanent head and facial injuries. The agents and rangers were unable to find C.R. at his permanent residence in Montana. A criminal complaint for felony assault was filed and an arrest warrant issued and entered into NCIC. C.R. was subsequently indicted on felony charges by a federal grand jury in Wyoming. Officers in San Bernadino, California, stopped C.R. on an unrelated charge last October and he was subsequently arrested on the NPS felony warrant. Following the April 2nd sentencing, he was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons and directed to serve the balance of the 41 months in custody at a facility in Montana. [Brian Smith, Special Agent in Charge] OTHER NEWS The following stories can be read on either the InsideNPS web site (if you are within the National Park Service) or at the InsideNPS public ‘news digest' site (if you are outside of the NPS). The web sites appear below: Homestead NM - The new Homestead Heritage Center at Homestead National Monument of America will be dedicated and open to the public this coming Sunday. NPS/FLETC - The Supreme Court has issued an important ruling on high-speed car chases. A summary is provided for reference by protection rangers Badlands NP - On May 3rd, two employees of Badlands National Park - Roger Myers and Ken Thompson - received Carnegie Medals for heroism. Chattahoochee NRA - Kevin G. Cheri, superintendent at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, has been named the new superintendent of Buffalo National River. He will begin his new assignment on June 24th. To see the above articles, go to InsideNPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/) or NPS Digest ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/). For NPS incident reporting standards, go to HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363 * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-426-2430). --- ### --- |