A Fairfax jury convicted a young illegal immigrant of a felony, reduced her fine to next to nothing, and then paid it themselves.
Sandra Mendez Ortega, a 19-year-old illegal immigrant, was convicted of Felony Grand Larceny after she stole three rings valued at $5,000 from a house she was hired to clean. Even though she was convicted on a felony count in Fairfax on December 8, the jury decided not to impose a jail sentence. Instead, they sentenced her to pay a $60 fine. Then, the jurors pooled together their resources and chose to pay the fine themselves. Jury foreman Jeffrey Memmott explained in an interview why members of the jury decided to give such a lenient sentence and then pay the fine themselves. “The general sentiment was she was a victim, too,” Memmott said. “Two of the women [on the jury] were crying because of how bad they felt. One lady pulled out a $20 bill, and just about everybody chipped in.” Another juror, Janice Woolridge, explained that “justice had to be done. But there’s also got to be some compassion somewhere. Young people make bad decisions. We just couldn’t pile on any more.”
Ortega's employers, the couple who had the jewelry stolen from them, were furious at the sentencing.
“I was outraged,” Lisa Copeland, the jewelry owner said. “I was just flabbergasted. I didn’t think $60 equated to the crime at all.”
Copeland discovered that the rings were missing back in September of 2016 and estimated them to be worth around $5,000. When she filed the report with Fairfax Police, they interrogated three different maids who all denied stealing the jewelry. After the interrogation, however, Sandra Mendez Ortega admitted to Copeland's husband Jeff that she took the jewelry and returned the rings.
Fairfax Police decided to force Ortega to write the couple an apology letter, though Lisa Copeland denied ever receiving the apology letter and only learned of its existence during the trial.
Because the rings were valued at $5,000, the theft was prosecuted as a felony. Ortega faced a maximum of 20 years in prison and up to a $2,500 fine for the theft. The jurors decided that wasn't necessary.
Speaking through a translator, Ortega expressed her gratitude for the jury paying her small fine.
“I became happy when I heard they wanted to give me that. Thank you very much to all of them. God bless them,” she said.
The saga might not be over yet, however. While Ortega might not have to serve any additional jail time or pay a fine, she still now has a felony conviction. That felony conviction, combined with the fact that she is living and working in the United States illegally, qualifies her for deportation under current federal guidelines.
Fairfax County is not a sanctuary jurisdiction. That means that county police will cooperate with federal law enforcement officers on immigration cases, as long as the crimes committed are serious.
That caveat, combined with the jury's slap-on-the-wrist sentence, sends this case into uncharted territory. By all definitions, Ortega is now a felon who qualifies for deportation. However, because she was not sentenced to serve any jail time, she is no longer in Fairfax County Police custody. Local police can't turn her over to immigration agents because they don't have her. It is already Fairfax County policy that officers will not conduct arrests solely for immigration purposes, which leaves it solely up to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to re-apprehend Ortega.
“It really irritates me that she came here and committed a felony,” Jeff Copeland said recently in an interview. “People are coming here because there is opportunity here. But when they come here and commit crimes, that’s where you’ve got to draw the line.”
What do you think? Should this young woman have faced a stiffer penalty? Let us know in the comment section below.
