Suspect pleaded guilty to drunken driving in '07

A man jailed on suspicion of killing a Highland High School band member in a crash Saturday gave Tempe police no reason to believe he was an illegal immigrant when he was stopped on suspicion of drunken driving almost two years ago.

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Tempe police spokesman Sgt. Steve Carbajal said Monday that Manuel Contreras-Galdean gave officers who arrested him Jan. 27, 2007, a local address that matched the address for his car registration, and his Mexican driver's license seemed to also be valid, all signs that he could be here legally.

Carbajal said officers run the risk of racial profiling if they begin inquiring about a person's citizenship without a good reason.

Contreras, who police say was drunk and who was booked on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the crash that killed Kelly Tracy, 16, Saturday morning, was here illegally in 2007, according to court records.

Tracy was a passenger in a Nissan Sentra driven by her brother when Contreras turned left in front of them at Sossaman and Guadalupe roads.

Vinnie Picard, spokesman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Contreras was arrested after a traffic stop in June 2003 in New Mexico. Picard said he admitted to being in the U.S. illegally and was voluntarily returned to Mexico.

Contreras told Mesa police Saturday that he has been in the U.S. illegally for 14 years.

He is being held without bail under a 2006 voter-approved law that allows for suspected illegal immigrants arrested and charged with serious felonies to be denied bail.

Contreras was arrested on a misdemeanor count of drunken driving, so if there had been reason to believe he was here illegally, Tempe police would have called Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Carbajal said.

Currently, if someone is arrested on felony charges, the person is booked into a Maricopa County jail, where there are detention officers trained to enforce federal immigration laws and determine someone's legal status.

Contreras pleaded guilty to drunken driving in March 2007 and was sentenced to 10 days in jail, nine days of which were suspended on the condition that he complete an alcohol abuse program, according to court records. He spent one night in Tempe City Jail, records show.

In 2006, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office stopped Contreras and cited him for no valid driver's license and no proof of insurance, according to court records. He went to court and paid $105 for the license citation and brought proof of insurance to get that charge dropped.

Contreras wasn't the only person who had been in custody of Tempe police and was recently involved in a fatal crash.

According to court records, Salvador Vivas-Diaz, 50, was wanted for failing to appear in Tempe Municipal Court when he was involved in an Oct. 25 crash that killed Phoenix police officer Shane Figueroa, 25.

Vivas-Diaz gave police a fake name and forged documents.

Police were able to figure out his true identity by his fingerprints, which revealed warrants for his arrest and his deportation record.

According to federal court records, Vivas-Diaz was deported June 29, 2004, and admitted to returning illegally Aug. 15, 2007.

He is charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault in connection with Figueroa's death.