SM Gibson

March 12, 2015

(ANTIMEDIA) An Oregon man has been held in the Washington County Jail for 897 days and counting… and for what?

Benito Vasquez-Hernandez, is being held as a material witness in a murder case. The 59-year-old lives in a tiny cinderblock encased cell. He wears an orange jumpsuit and has been granted the identical freedoms as a killer. He has committed no crime himself, yet is treated the just like any other inmate held in captivity.

It is believed that Benito may be the longest held material witness in not just the state of Oregon, but in the history of the United States.

According to Oregon law, a judge can choose to release a material witness until they are called to testify or hold them in custody until trial — the latter being the case for Benito. There is no expiration on the amount of time that a material witness may be held but detention typically lasts less than a week.

An immigrant with no formal education and unable to read and write, Benito has had no contact with his family since being imprisoned.

His defense attorney has attempted to get Vasquez-Hernandez released by having Benito provide a sworn statement in a deposition. According to the defense attorney, Benito does not understand the concept of a sworn statement and has not complied. The prosecution, who believes that the captive witness is essential to their case, claims that he has refused to provide the statement out of stubbornness. It has been argued by the prosecution that Benito must be held because he — more than likely — won’t appear in court when he is called to testify.

Moises Vasquez-Santiago, who is Benito’s son, was also held as a witness in relation to the identical murder case. The younger Vasquez-Santiago, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia while in custody, was released last fall after being detained for 727 days. His lawyer said that he believes the isolation led to his 28-year-old client’s unraveling.

Authorities say that another son of Vasquez-Santiago, Eloy, killed a 55-year-old mother of six, named Maria Bolanos-Rivera.

Benito and Moises were picked up in fall of 2012. The family duo was apprehended in California after moving to the Golden State from Oregon, shortly after the disappearance of Bolanos-Rivera.

According to OregonLive.com,

“Court records say that Vasquez-Hernandez told the detectives that he had seen blood in the minivan that his elder son – Eloy Vasquez-Santiago – had been driving. Moises said his brother was now in Mexico, but had admitted to him that he had stabbed the woman to death. Moises said his father also had seen Eloy hide a knife.”

As authorities transferred the pair back to Oregon, Eloy contacted detectives and implored them to release his father and brother. Calling from Ensenada, he acknowledged his involvement in the murder and pledged to hand himself over to the state. Eloy, who admitted that he stabbed the woman because she insulted him, turned himself in the next day.

An Oregon judge denied pleas from Moises and Benito’s court appointed attorneys to release the pair after Eloy surrendered himself.

Detective Joe Ganete told Eloy, according to police transcripts,

“I don’t want your family to be involved in this, but they are witnesses that have to go to the court here and say that you killed her. Your dad has to testify. Moises has to testify. “I can’t let go of your family until I find the body, until I find the truth from you – all of the details. Because they’re all witnesses that can tell me what you said to them.”

Bail was set at $500,000 each, for the material witnesses. To be released, they would have to post $50,000, which is 10% of their bond. Vasquez-Hernandez’s attorney said that even $50 would be an impossibility, given the men’s impoverished circumstances.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Lesowski said, “I sincerely regret keeping this man locked up,” speaking of Benito, “But I don’t see any alternative that is fair to (the victim’s family). I’m trying to convict a man who has confessed to killing a mother. It’s not a real easy job. It’s not perfect.”

Oregon law dictates that witnesses be paid $7.50 a day for their efforts. Moises was to receive over $5,000 by the state for his 727 days behind bars, but his lawyer stated that he didn’t care about the money and only cared about being set free.

Moises has not been in contact with his lawyer since his release.

Benito, the eldest Vasquez-Santiago is still sitting in jail today. He didn’t commit a crime. The admitted guilty party of the murder is safely behind bars and unable to kill again. Why is a material witness being imprisoned?

Tomorrow will be Benito’s 898th behind the concrete walls.

This article (Man Who Has Committed No Crime Has Been Held in Jail for 900 Days) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TheAntiMedia.org. Tune in to the Anti-Media radio show Monday through Friday @ 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. Help us fix our typos: edits@theantimedia.org.

