Concord Child Abduction Hearing Halted to Wait for Mayan Interpreter
Categories: Bay Area News, City of Concord Headlines, crime
Written By: Mayor Concord California
I don’t know if I should be happy about this or outraged.
MARTINEZ — A preliminary hearing for a homeless man charged with abducting a 4-year-old Concord boy and then taking him to lunch was halted today so the court could find a Mayan interpreter for the defendant.
Police and attorneys have been communicating with 35-year-old Mexico native Jose Camal in Spanish since his arrest July 13, when officers say he took the child from outside his home on Meadow Lane and brought him to a nearby Chinese restaurant to share a meal.
The boy was found unharmed near the restaurant about a half-hour after he was discovered missing. A drunken Camal then flagged down officers and confessed he took the child to the restaurant because the boy said he was hungry. Prosecutors initially declined to charge Camal, citing no evidence of devious intent. After a flood of e-mails from the public, prosecutors reconsidered and charged Camal with child abduction.
A detective had started testifying this morning when Camal told his Spanish interpreter that he could only understand some of what she was translating. Attorneys said they were unaware that a Mayan language is Camal’s native tongue.
The hearing resumes Monday. – CoCo Times
I’m glad that this kidnapping is being prosecuted. I’m glad that the DA is tracking down a native interpretur to make sure the charges stick but what are the chances that this man who took a 4 yr old from his home is going to get off on some technicality since he was arrested based on an admission of guilt.
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August 19th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
In my opinion he’s playing games with them. In every Mayan village in Southern Mexico they speak spanish. They should have him write his request out in Mayan. Let’s see how fluent he is.
August 20th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Not sure I agree with the amount of time and money spent to prosecute an admittedly guilty person. Great that our system wants him to fully understand what is happening, but given the circumstances, there should be a better way.