News : Diary of a deportation

The illegal alien living in Vinton who was deported on Friday, Oct. 8, has been in frequent contact with Iowa law enforcement officials over the past several weeks.

See that story HERE.

Jorge L. Galeas Pineda, 24, was involved in a traffic accident in Linn County on August 8. He was arrested at that time for driving while suspended and also charged for failure to have insurance.

Less than four weeks later, Galeas was driving on 24th Avenue (Highway 218) south of Vinton on Sept. 3, when Deputy Ron Tippett of the Benton County Sheriff's Office stopped the red minivan Galeas was driving.

Galeas told the deputy that his name was Lenin Castaneda, and that he had a valid driver's license.

Deputy Tippett gave the man five days to produce the license. But Tippett did not, according to an affidavit he filed later in September, hear from Galeas again.

On Sept. 27, Galeas was arrested in Vinton for driving while suspended.

On Sept. 29, he failed to appear in court to face the charges from the Sept. 3 hearing. The judge set another appearance hearing date for Oct. 6.

Galeas, who also was arrested in 2007 on drug charges, failed to appear again on Oct. 6; this time the Benton County magistrate ordered a warrant for Galeas' arrest.

On Oct. 7, the local charges against Galeas were dismissed, because he was scheduled for federal deportation proceedings on the following day.

Then on Friday, Oct. 8, according to the court documents, federal deportation procedures were scheduled.