Two stopped in car won't give names, police say

BISHOPVILLE -- Two men are being held pending possible deportation hearings with federal immigration authorities after police were unable to discern their identities following a traffic stop.

The men -- who Maryland State Police described as Hispanic -- were stopped by troopers at 1:18 a.m. Saturday morning for allegedly driving 80 mph in a posted 55 mph zone. The men were traveling northbound on Route 113 near Shingle Landing Road, police said. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency has since identified the passenger as Juan Manuel Diaz Robiero, a 19-year-old who admitted he is in the U.S. illegally from Mexico.

The driver of the car gave troopers a fake name and had no legal driver's license, police said. He also failed to provide registration or proof of insurance for the car, police said.

Because officers could smell alcohol, the driver was field-tested for sobriety and arrested for DUI, police said.

The man would not or could not give police his name or age, and did not reveal where he lived or worked when questioned by language interpreters, police said.

Police have yet to identify the driver, who has yet to be charged criminally and is being held only on DUI charges.

Robiero, police said, threw open cans of beer out the window of the vehicle as troopers approached. He provided police with a fake name, then tried to run across the highway but was stopped after a foot chase.

Upon arrest, police found a fake identification from North Carolina on his person, and upon further questioning Robiero provided another false name

Robiero is being held on $3,000 bond and an Immigration and Naturalization Service detainer for investigations related to deportation, police said Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Maryland branch of the ICE said he had not gathered enough information on Saturday's event to comment on it specifically.

In general, there are many investigative techniques ICE uses to identify individuals who may have come into the country illegally, spokesman Ross Feinstein said.

The agency prioritizes illegal immigrants who have committed crimes, and a DUI could fall into that category, he said, adding that an immigrant could ultimately end up facing removal proceedings.

410-213-9442, ext. 14