A federal judge says the government’s explanation has been inadequate so far to justify the arrest and detention of Gerardo Vazquez-Mentado, who authorities thought was an illegal alien but who is actually a naturalized citizen with a nearly identical name to the person they were seeking. Vazquez-Mentado’s claim for false arrest and imprisonment, Vazquez-Mentado v. Buitron, 5:12-dv-0797, contends that border agents and police who arrested him in Oswego in 2009 failed to make an immediate check of his driver’s license. It would have verified his identity and the fact he had been a U.S. citizen since 1998, the judge said.
The government argued that border agents made an honest mistake because the name of the man they were seekingGerardo Vasquez-Mentadowas very similar to Vazquez-Mentado’s and that, coincidentally, the two men had the same date of birth. Northern District Judge Lawrence Kahn (See Profile) denied a government motion to dismiss Vazquez-Mentado’s civil rights’ claim. Kahn said the similarities of the names and their birthdays, while "certainly a coincidence," does not excuse his arrest and detention.
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