Manuel E. Pintado

A Massachusetts man accused of threatening state Rep. William Snyder over proposed immigration legislation has until Wednesday to fly to Florida and Friday to surrender himself in Martin County.

Even though Martin County detectives rushed over the weekend to the Massachusetts courtroom, Northampton District Court Judge W. Michael Goggins on Monday released Manuel E. Pintado from custody because the 47-year-old had waived his initial efforts to contest being sent to Florida.

Read more about his arrest here.

Pintado, who is being financially backed by his local church in Northampton, faces up to 20 years for sending a threatening e-mail to Snyder on Jan. 8, an hour after a mass fatal shooting in Arizona that seriously injured Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Rep. William Snyder

“If he doesn’t do that, then a warrant in Massachusetts will be issued and he’ll be wanted in two states,” Estes said. “And this is where his family is. He doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”

Pintado’s church is paying for the airline ticket and to reimburse Martin County for its detectives’ expenses in traveling to Massachusetts, Estes said.

The ruling “baffled” local law enforcement and Snyder said “it flies in the face of reason.”

“People ask me if I’m worried. I’m not. But that is not the issue,” said Snyder, R-Stuart. “This threat, as far as I’m concerned, was made against every member of the Florida House and every elected official in Florida. He threatened the system and the way we do business in Florida.”

Pintado, a self-described political activist for immigration rights and a sociology major, was arrested on Jan. 31 in Northampton. He faces a $450,000 bail in Martin County on charges of corruption by threat and sending a written threat to kill or do bodily harm. The charges are second- and third-degree felonies.

The e-mail said: “You better just stop that ridiculous law” and made a threat against Snyder and his family, according to Martin County Sheriff’s Office reports.

Police quoted Pintado saying he sent the e-mail because he believed Snyder was trying to abolish the 14th Amendment that requires equal protection under the law.

Snyder has proposed making it a state crime if non-U.S. residents fail to carry alien registration documents — that range from green cards to visas and passports. His draft bill also requires businesses to use a federal database to check the immigration status of new hires.

After the ruling Monday, Martin County Sheriff’s Robert Crowder quickly expressed concern that the Ecuador native might not surrender himself to Martin County law enforcement officials.

“We have grave concerns that Pintado will be unwilling to return to Florida on his own and, more importantly, are concerned that there again exists a possibility that because of his release he could potentially act upon his previous threat,” Crowder said. “Detectives from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office that are also sworn Deputy U.S. Marshals are in Massachusetts and were prepared to assume custody of Pintado this morning and if Judge Goggins had not ordered Pintado’s release, he would have been in custody at the Martin County Jail by (Monday night).”

Estes said Crowder should have no reasons for concern.

“When he gets to Florida, one of the questions about what kind of bail will be set, will be whether he presents a risk of flight,” Estes said. “If you pay for a ticket and fly 1,500 miles to go turn yourself in on a warrant, almost by definition you’re not a flight risk.”

The congregation at First Churches, where Pintado is a deacon, has raised the money for his flight and, as part of Goggins’ order, will repay the Martin County Sheriff’s Office the $1,300 it cost for the detectives to attend Monday’s hearing.

Pintado was required to get a plane ticket to Florida at 4 p.m. Monday, reach Florida by Wednesday and appear at the Martin County Courthouse by 9 a.m. Friday.

Estes said the case will be complicated because Pintado has never been convicted of any assault behavior, might not have been taking the proper medication for mental health issues and will show that he had no means to carry out any kind of threat.

“He’s got to face this one way or another, there is no escaping the fact that he is charged with a criminal offense in Florida,” Estes said. “Given his record, and the nature of the e-mail sent, I don’t think he’s facing anywhere near 20 years.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 at 7:35 am and is filed under Crime, Martin County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.