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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, February 13, 2008 =============================================================================================================== NOTICE Due to extended out-of-country travel, this email summary of the NPS Morning Report will not appear between Thursday, February 14th, and Monday, March 3rd. During that time, you can read the following publications on line: InsideNPS - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/ NPS News Digest - HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/ Morning Report - HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/morningreport/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/morningreport/ INCIDENTS Wilson's Creek NB Ice Storm Causes Substantial Tree Damage A winter storm left heavy accumulations of ice throughout the park and region on Monday. The storm coated surfaces with a half inch of ice, then dropped sleet and freezing rain that froze solid overnight. Roads, parking areas and trees are covered with ice, but power was still on at the time of the report on Tuesday morning. Park staff are clearing emergency routes to structures and a preliminary damage assessment is underway. Initial reports are that tree damage on the tour road is comparable to that caused by a storm on January 12, 2007. Another winter storm is forecast for Thursday night and Friday. [Gary Sullivan, Chief of Resources and Facility Management] Curecanti NRA Illegal Alien Sentenced On Weapons Charges On July 3, 2006, the Gunnison County Sheriff's Office notified the park that there was a man at the Gunnison Valley Hospital with a gunshot to his forearm who claimed that he'd been shot while fishing along the shoreline of Blue Mesa Reservoir. An NPS special agent and the park's chief ranger drove to the hospital while rangers conducted interviews of potential witnesses. The wounded man was identified as J.S.-A., an undocumented alien who was working construction in the area. J.S.-A. was later taken to Montrose County Hospital for surgery. Through a criminal investigation conducted jointly by Crested Butte officers and park agents and rangers, J.S.-A. was identified as the primary suspect in several residential burglaries and a violent attempted rape in Crested Butte. He had evidently shot himself accidentally with a handgun while in the park. A state search warrant was served at his residence and evidence pertaining to the burglaries and sexual assault was recovered. The handgun was recovered later on. J.S.-A. was subsequently identified as a suspect in several other residential burglaries and was charged with same by the Elbert County Sheriff's Office. He was convicted in state court of sexual assault and on numerous burglary charges filed by both counties in late 2006. Meanwhile, the investigation into J.S.-A.'s immigration status and criminal possession of a firearm and ammunition continued. With assistance from both ICE and ATF agents and at the direction of the assistant U.S. attorney, NPS agents were able to establish that J.S.-A. was a foreign national who was inside the U.S. illegally and that he'd been in possession of a firearm and ammunition both inside and outside of NPS jurisdiction. He was indicted by a federal grand jury for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition (18 USC 922) and subsequently found guilty. On January 10th, Suarez-Aguire was sentenced to the following: 15 months of additional federal incarceration beyond the 23 months already served (he's been in jail since July 5, 2006) three years supervised release, if not deported by ICE after serving the above sentence a $100 mandatory victim assessment mandatory DNA collection The federal component of the investigation was led by two NPS special agents and prosecution ultimately was handled by the Denver office of the Colorado United States Attorney's Office. [(Brian S Smith, Special Agent in Charge, Intermountain Region] OTHER NEWS The following stories (among others) can be read on InsideNPS: Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHS - A winter storm forced the cancelation of the Lincoln Bicentennial inaugural celebration planned for yesterday. The park continued, though, with its 30-year-long tradition of laying a wreath in Lincoln's memory. HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6228" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6228 Risk Management Division - Reminder - the annual NPS Safety Achievement Awards for employee or public safety accomplishments are due in WASO by February 22nd. HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6223" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6223 In the Media - A weekly summary of news stories about or of consequence to the NPS, including links to the articles. HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6222" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=6222
* * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov). --- ### --- |