Santa Cruz “harbor hooker” Alix Tichelman to be deported
UPDATE 4/7/17 10:36 a.m.: Santa Cruz “harbor hooker” Alix Tichelman has been ordered to be deported from the U.S., according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On Friday, ICE issued a statement:
“Ms. Tichelman came into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after serving time for multiple criminal convictions, including involuntary manslaughter and a felony drug charge. At that point, the agency placed her in removal proceedings. On April 6, an immigration judge held that Ms. Tichelman’s criminal convictions were grounds for removal and ordered her removed from the United States. Ms. Tichelman will remain in ICE custody pending final arrangements for her removal.”
KION will have more on this story when information becomes available.
UPDATE 4/4/17 6:00 PM: New developments in the potential deportation of a Santa Cruz prostitute convicted in the death of a Google executive in 2013.
Tuesday, immigration enforcement issued a statement about Alix Tichelman.
March 29th was the end of Alix Tichelman’s time behind bars at the Santa Cruz county jail. She served a six year sentence for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Google executive Forest Hayes in 2013, after injecting him with a lethal dose of heroin and leaving him to die on his yacht in the Santa Cruz harbor.
According to the Santa Cruz county sheriff’s office, U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement placed a hold on Tichelman, a Canadian citizen, in June 2015.
Just a couple days before her release, ICE reminded them of that hold.
“They contacted us again on March 27th of this year asking us essentially if we could hold Ms. Tichelman 48 hours beyond her release date and we declined that request.” said Sergeant Chris Clark with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office.
Sergeant Chris Clark says the request was declined based on the county’s commitment to the California Trust Act, protecting immigrants from cooperation with federal agents. According to catrustact.org, it limits immigration hold requests in local jails.
“[We} followed state legislation with regards to the trust and truth acts with regards to not holding Ms. Tichelman beyond her release date” said Sergeant Clark.
Clark also says the Sheriff’s office notified Tichelman and her attorney of the request from ICE on the 27th.
Authorities says Tichelman is now in a California ICE detention facility.
ICE released this statement confirming that they detained Tichelman:
“Ms. Tichelman was taken into custody by deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) March 29. Department of Homeland Security databases indicate Ms. Tichelman has multiple prior criminal convictions, including convictions for involuntary manslaughter and a felony drug charge. She will remain in DHS/ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”
As for Santa Cruz County’s involvement regarding TIchelman, Clark says their part in the case is finished.
“We followed all of our policies and procedures with regard to her stay with us and her release to ICE and Homeland Security” Clark said.
If you’re wondering why Tichelman’s six year sentence ended early, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office tells KION that she had received credit for time served and also got time off for serving a prison sentence in a local detention facility. They say she was also eligible for other programs that took some time off the sentence.
PREVIOUS STORY: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a statement Tuesday morning on Alix Tichelman being detained by deportation officers on Wednesday, March 29.
Statement:
“Ms. Tichelman was taken into custody by deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) March 29. Department of Homeland Security databases indicate Ms. Tichelman has multiple prior criminal convictions, including convictions for involuntary manslaughter and a felony drug charge. She will remain in DHS/ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”
ICE spokesman James Schwab also said a judge within the U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review will decide when her deportation proceeding will happen. That office is based in Washington D.C.
KION is following this story and will have more information at 5 & 6.
PREVIOUS STORY: High-end call girl Alix Tichelman has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.
Santa Cruz County Sgt. Chris Clark said Tichelman was released from the Santa Cruz County Jail on Wednesday, March 29 after serving her sentence for pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
In November 2013, investigators said Tichelman injected Google executive Forrest Hayes with a lethal dose of heroin and left him to die on his yacht in the Santa Cruz Harbor.
Clark said ICE asked the sheriff’s office to hold Tichelman for 48 hours beyond her sentence but the county refused, citing its support of the California Trust Act. He also said Tichelman and her attorney were notified of the ICE request before she was released, which is also stipulated in the trust act.
Tichelman is a Canadian citizen and was identified by ICE as a person of interest, Clark said.
