Charlotte sheriff won't call ICE (02-18-2025--Hour1)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, write to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:29] So let me start with a story that appeared the other day at WSOC-TV, Joe Bruno, the reporter, that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and by the way, this story may sound a little familiar in that I covered a little bit of it, I guess it was last week, I want to say. Maybe it was Friday, I forget.

[00:00:53] But because our bold and fearless and sometimes frustrated Sheriff Gary, not my fault, McFadden, in the news again regarding this story. But here's how it started. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are ramping up arrests. ICE is now making daily arrests in Charlotte and in the surrounding area. Channel 9 government reporter Joe Bruno embedded with ICE.

[00:01:22] Which sounds uncomfortable, which sounds uncomfortable just because it's chilly. No, he embedded with ICE in Charlotte last week to learn more about their operations in the area. And on Thursday, Channel 9 was there when ICE arrested Jose Napoleon Serrano. And here's that report. Every day in Charlotte, ICE agents are gearing up and getting their assignment.

[00:01:51] Good morning, guys. This morning we're going after Jose Napoleon Serrano, Honduran male. Honduras citizen Jose Napoleon Serrano has already been deported twice. In 2020, he was removed from the United States after being arrested in Operation Noble Guardian. That's when investigators arrested people who crossed the border with a kid in order to be deemed a family unit so they can avoid detention. Only to then ship the kid back after gaining entry into the U.S.

[00:02:21] They felt that they would be safe if they brought a child in. And so he was one of those people that were targeted for that reason. The child's essentially a prop. Absolutely. That's Maria Summers. She's the head of enforcement and removal operations in Charlotte. For about an hour and a half, we parked inside Napoleon Serrano's neighborhood, waiting for him to come out. A stakeout she says could have been avoided. We're putting our lives in danger.

[00:02:47] Obviously, the alien's life and the people in the community. Last month, CMPD arrested Napoleon Serrano on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a female, and domestic violence. Yes. ICE issued this detainer requesting him to be held for 48 hours and for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office to let them know before he is released. Records show he was held for 48 hours, but ICE says MCSO never made that phone call.

[00:03:16] As I've been reporting, Sheriff Gary McFadden thinks the law doesn't require him to do so. It's frustrating because this could be a very easy transaction at the jail if they were honoring our detainers. So that's how ICE ended up here in North Charlotte. They spent about a week getting to know Napoleon Serrano's habits. We don't have movement, right? Now they are all scattered throughout the neighborhood, waiting for him to leave his home. We're keeping with the president's policy and it's the worst first.

[00:03:46] This is targeted enforcement, not a raid. And Summer says, despite what has been said, her agents aren't going into churches, schools, or other sensitive areas. She says the focus is on people who have committed violent crimes. Our goal is to remove them and hopefully, you know, get rid of one less threat, you know, and one less victim out there that gets to sleep at night and feel safe.

[00:04:12] When Napoleon Serrano left his house, agents in unmarked cars followed. And he instantly knew why. He pulled into a park and ditched his car. He's up in here in the power line. And after a short run through the woods, ICE made the arrest. Anything you want to say? Okay, TNS, Kate is here. Napoleon Serrano didn't comment on his arrest.

[00:04:41] He asked ICE if someone would be able to pick up his car, and he confirmed all of his kids are being supervised. Summer says just like they were watching him, he was having people watch them. They're doing counter-sail. Yeah, they know our cars. They kind of also know somewhat the way we operate. So when he saw something was, you know, not normal, he came, he parked his car and took off. After being escorted out of the woods, Napoleon Serrano was cuffed.

[00:05:11] ICE let him leave his keys, and he was allowed to call his wife to let her know he was arrested and that she would need to pick up the car. Now that the suspect has been arrested, he's going to be taken back to the ICE office in Charlotte for processing. He will then be sent to Almance County, where he's expected to remain in the detention center for one or two days before he can get a hearing before a judge. At the ICE field office, he was escorted through the back and into an elevator. Once inside, officers collected the rest of his belongings,

[00:05:40] including more than $2,000 in cash. He was then placed into a cell. Summers says she has met with state lawmakers, asking them to make it clear sheriffs have to call ICE before a suspect like Napoleon Serrano is released. But she is reiterating, the focus right now is on people accused of serious crimes. We are going after criminals, so I would say don't commit additional crimes, right?

[00:06:09] And most likely that's not who we're going to prioritize. I talked to Sheriff Gary McFadden's office again after the arrest, and they reiterated their belief that they are following this law as written. And to hear the part about kids being used as props and then sent back, that's just so sad. Unbelievable to hear. And Joe, you also talked to the agents about how their directives have changed from the Biden administration to now the Trump administration. Yes, specifically for the ICE Charlotte office. Really, the focus was on processing the large number of people

[00:06:38] who crossed the border and then resided here in Charlotte. Now the focus is on removal, and different agencies are able to help ICE with those arrests, like the FBI and the DEA. And so that is what is happening now. A great look inside, Joe. Thank you. Thank you, Joe. All right, so that's the initial report that was filed by Joe Bruno over at WSOC-TV, and that prompted then the response from the sheriff's office.

[00:07:08] And in the online version of the story, a spokesperson for Sheriff McFadden reiterated the sheriff's belief that a notification prior to release is not required. Is not required. I don't have to call. That's what he said. Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office, according to the spokesperson Sarah Mastori,

[00:07:33] the sheriff's office is doing much of the legwork for ICE while complying. Okay. Were you guys on the stakeout? Did you have to sit in the car and follow them around the neighborhood for a week? A week? While complying with an unfunded state mandate for what is ultimately a federal matter, she said. Yes, so is bank robbery, too. You guys help at all with those? She says, should Sheriff McFadden now provide ICE with a two-minute warning as well? I don't even know what that means.

[00:08:04] The form is very clear. The fact remains, she says, Sheriff's Office is following the law, both 162.62 and now House Bill 10. Summers with ICE said she has met with state lawmakers to ask them to make it clear sheriffs have to call ICE before a suspect like Napoleon Serrano is released. All right. If you're listening to this show, you know I try to keep up with all sorts of current events. And I know you do, too. And you've probably heard me say, get your news from multiple sources.

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[00:09:30] I want to welcome to the program now AP Dillon. She writes, you can find her at Substack, APDillon.substack.com. That's AP, obviously the letters, D-I-L-L-O-N, APDillon.substack.com. What's going on, AP? How are you? Good, Pete. Thanks for having me on. Absolutely. So I was reading your piece the other day, or sorry, about, I was reading your piece about the immigration stuff

[00:09:55] and then I saw the connection to the WSOC TV story with the undercover embedded raid and all of the stuff that that kicked up. So let me first start, though, with closer to where you are up in Raleigh, because I just played the WSOC report on the Charlotte incident. So what did you guys see up in Raleigh

[00:10:19] with these targeted enforcement actions in Wake County? Well, earlier in February, ICE was on the ground here in Raleigh, and they captured a 24-year-old suspected member of Tranduil Agua, the Venezuelan game that's been taking over cities across the nation. Law enforcement here was involved, as well as Border Patrol, ICE, Marine Operations, U.S. Marshals,

[00:10:49] a whole bunch of folks were involved in that one. And it happened at a residence in Raleigh. Officers, when they took him into custody, the guy's name was Ricardo Padilla Grenadillo. They took him into custody and they found a handgun, ammunition, and 10 other Venezuelan aliens were in the house, were also arrested during the operation. No, we don't. And we don't know, like, who those other people are at this time. No, we don't.

[00:11:15] We're assuming that they were possibly additional suspected gang members, but we're not sure. It could just be relatives or friends or somebody like that. The ICE press release said that he was wanted in connection with a shooting, a mass shooting in Chicago that had left, like, two or three people dead and several wounded. They didn't link to that story, but I managed to track it down. It was something that happened on December 2nd in the south side of Chicago

[00:11:42] where eight people were involved in that shooting, and, yeah, three were killed. And all of those were identified by Chicago's police chief as being Hispanic in dissent that were the victims. And Chicago's got a real big problem with Trendy Aragora in its apartment complexes, just like we saw in Aurora, Colorado. Yeah. So ICE has been conducting raids there as well. They missed him there.

[00:12:12] And, I mean, this kind of follows multiple Trendy Aragora West here in North Carolina. I mean, this is, like, the second or the third one, I think. Last fall, there was a guy named Mujica Rojas, also known as La Fresa. He was arrested in Charlotte on September 1st of 2024. He was an alleged lieutenant of Trendy Aragora and was wanted for illegally entering the United States in 2022,

[00:12:39] but also for a number of charges, like illegal and gun ammunition trafficking, extortion, money laundering, that sort of thing. So he was also wanted, apparently, in relation to the gang's involvement and activity in various cities, including murder, kidnapping, human trafficking, drug trafficking, and terrorism. Well, he sounds like somebody that our sheriff would have very little problem releasing back out onto the streets.

[00:13:09] Well, yeah, he did. Yeah. So let me go over some of the numbers, and you report on these numbers in your piece. Per a November 2023 report by CWB Chicago. What is CWB Chicago? Do you know? It's a news outlet. Okay. It's a local station. Gotcha. So they've been reporting the arrest of Venezuelan nationals has surged.

[00:13:36] And I had to double check this number. 11,333 percent. 11,000 percent. 2021 and 2023. Yep. It's crazy. So the arrests of these Venezuelan nationals in Chicago. So it seems obvious that they're trying to put down roots and gain a foothold for an operation if they haven't already done so in Chicago. Yep.

[00:14:01] And so now you've got a couple of these links to Trende Aragua in North Carolina, one in Charlotte, one up in Raleigh. And just to go back to the piece about the people that were also arrested, you said we don't know if they're family members or relatives or friends or something. But this is one of the – I think the DHS, Tom Holman has called them collateral arrests basically, which is we're going in to find this criminal.

[00:14:30] And if we find other people there and you're here illegally also, you're going to get picked up too. Yep. And somehow this is supposed to be a bad thing, but like, I don't know, maybe don't harbor criminal gangs. You know, like that might be a good way to start or to avoid this kind of interaction. So then that takes us to Gary Not My Fault McFadden.

[00:14:57] That's what I call him, our sheriff here, because nothing is ever his fault. He's always blaming other people because he's a narcissistic sociopath. But anyway, he – so he says that he doesn't have to call ICE to let them know that he's getting ready to – or they're getting ready to release one of these offenders back out into the public.

[00:15:17] And he cites House Bill 10 that was recently adopted by the General Assembly to try to force these sheriffs like McFadden to comply with ICE, to cooperate with ICE. And so do you think that he has found yet another loophole that he can wiggle through? Well, House Bill 10 doesn't specifically say to call them before and after. It just says that they're supposed to communicate with ICE about detainees.

[00:15:45] One would think that that would also include, you know, if you're about to release this guy, that maybe they ought to know. Yeah. So that's sort of where I think the WSOC reporter Joe Bruno over there, I think, was doing that story. I think that was the bone of contention between the two of them where he issued this massive statement, and Bruno put it up on X about the sheriff not believing that a phone call is required, but ICE says it is.

[00:16:11] You know, the ICE fact sheet basically says that a detainer serves, quote, both a request for advanced notification of release and a request to hold the subject for a short period of time, enabling ICE to take custody. But it also kind of talks about how they expect to be, you know, communicated with if that person is going to be released.

[00:16:33] Now, you know, given this guy, you know, had some serious charges against him, wouldn't you want to contact ICE to make sure this guy wasn't going back out on the streets? That just seems like common sense. Yeah, one would think. Yeah, I've talked to several sources in the General Assembly, and they all told me that they're going to refine this down so that there isn't any wiggle room. So I have a feeling that we'll see that taken up at some point.

[00:16:57] It's not in any of the bills currently, but I can't imagine that the House Speaker, Destin Hall, would let that go considering House Bill 10 with his baby. Yeah. So, yeah, we'll see some movement on that, I think. No, it's a great point. We appreciate the time. AP Dillon, you can read her work at apdillon.substack.com. The headline on this piece is called Ice Raid in Raleigh, Nets Trendy Aragua Gang Member. Also at North State Journal. North State Journal, that's right. She writes for the North State Journal, nsjonline.com as well. Always a pleasure, AP. We'll talk to you soon.

[00:17:27] Great. Thanks, Pete. All right, thanks. All right. I hope you had a happy holiday season, but tell me if something like this happened at your house. Your family and friends are gathered around. Maybe y'all are in the living room. You're laughing, swapping stories, reminiscing, and then somebody says, Hey, Dad, remember those old VHS tapes? Did you ever get them transferred? And then the room gets all quiet. All eyes are on Dad who says, Oh, you know, well, I've been meaning to, but I just haven't gotten around to it.

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[00:18:23] Talk about a memorable gift. So do what I did. Trust the experts at Create a Video, conveniently located in Mint Hill, right off I-485, and online at createavideo.com. So, Sheriff Gary, not my fault, McFadden, through his spokesperson, Sarah Mistori, who really, I think, does capture just the arrogance and condescension of the man when she says, Should Sheriff McFadden now provide ICE with a two-minute warning as well?

[00:18:55] When you're releasing a violent offender back out into the community? Maybe. Maybe. Okay. All right. I'll just say yes. How about that? Yes. You should do that. How about that? You should do that. You should give a two-minute warning. Or at least any warning. How about that? Because that's what ICE is requesting of you. Gary McFadden has made it very clear from his first run for office almost eight years ago now, right?

[00:19:24] Because he was re-elected again. He has made it very clear in his words and his actions that he does not want to deport anyone. In fact, that's what the statement says. I read part of this statement last week. I guess it was Friday. Because I got this press release from the sheriff's office. And it says right here,

[00:19:50] Simply deporting individuals is not an effective solution and does not make our community safer. And that is absolute horse crap. Okay? It absolutely does make the community safer because now you don't have a violent criminal in the community. Why do I have to explain this to a career law enforcement officer?

[00:20:16] Simply deporting individuals is not an effective solution. Well, then why arrest anybody? Why arrest people? Why put them in jail? Right? Why remove violent offenders from our society at all? No point. If that's not a solution, if that doesn't make the community safer, then why do you do it at all? Why do you even operate a jail? Why not just let everybody out immediately? Well, I guess he's kind of doing that already.

[00:20:46] Yeah. Okay. So, all right. Here's the actual detainer. I went and pulled it from the ICE website. Updated on February 4th. Maintain custody. It says, It is requested that you, and then it has a whole checklist, maintain custody of the subject for a period not to exceed 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays,

[00:21:14] beyond the time when the subject would have otherwise been released from your custody to allow DHS to take custody of the subject. That's kind of important, just to this story, because in their little chronology, the breakdown of the events, in the press release from the sheriff's office, it says, January 12th, which was a Saturday at 535 AM, this guy Serrano was arrested by CMPD.

[00:21:41] And remember, this guy was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a female, and domestic violence. That's what he was arrested for. That's what he was arrested for. And then they say, 35 minutes later, sheriff's office notified ICE with no response the entire day. They don't have to respond to you.

[00:22:10] Why are you putting that in the press release? Like, oh, they didn't even call us back. They said, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. In the form itself, in the ICE detainer request, it says, If you cannot reach a DHS official at these numbers, because they have lines there for the numbers, please contact the ICE Law Enforcement Support Center in Burlington, Vermont.

[00:22:36] Okay, so they have an after-hours number for you to call, too. But that part of the request says, As early as possible, prior to the time you otherwise would release the subject, please notify DHS by calling, and then there's a phone number, during business hours, or another phone number, after hours, or in an emergency. And then they give the Burlington, Vermont number. So they gave him three numbers, and they're asking,

[00:23:06] As early as possible, prior to the time you otherwise would release the subject, please notify us by calling. And McFadden says, I don't have to. And so he's not going to. He has made this very clear. And all of these excuses that he keeps putting out there, it's all just part of the same pattern of, It's not my fault. Not my fault. It's just a request. Not my fault.

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[00:24:57] and make memories that'll last a lifetime. Let's go to the phones. Here is David. Welcome to the program. David. Hey, thanks for taking my poll. Yes, sir. Paul, Pete. Yes, sir. This is outrageous. I mean, first of all, they should arrest him for obstruction of justice just for the point. And that the voters in Charlotte need to start voting on merit and qualifications rather than color of skin and labeled by the political party.

[00:25:26] And finally, why wasn't his car taken to fund the program? And the lady that was harboring a fugitive, why wasn't she arrested? What lady? What lady? His wife that was going to pick his car up. Oh. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, if it... I mean, where are the adults? Yeah, I don't know. Now, I assume that the charges that he had on him were probably related to her, right?

[00:25:56] It was a domestic violence charge. So... She's still harboring a criminal. No, I... Well, she's not harboring a criminal because at that point he had been arrested, charged, and then bonded out. And she very well could have been the person that bonded him out. He's in the country illegally. He's a friggin' criminal. So... So, right. So if that's what you're talking about, then the harboring of an illegal alien, then... Yeah, I mean, but they're not going after those people right now. Now, maybe they will.

[00:26:25] Well, collect them accidentally. Yeah, well, that's... They are doing that unless she is a legal resident. She may be here legally. Or she may be a citizen. She may be a citizen. That's why she didn't get picked up. If she's here legally, take her in and charge her with harboring a criminal. Yeah, so I don't... It would make it so difficult for these people to harbor criminals that they stopped doing it because there's no penalty right now.

[00:26:55] Yeah, not for her. Yeah, and I don't know if there's an appetite for that at this point. Right now, they're doing what is a more politically palatable operation of targeting the worst first. You know, that's what they've said. Well, collect anybody that's in the flower garden with them. Well, they will. I mean, they have picked up other people. They call them collaterals, right? So they have done that. But I just... I don't know what the metric is that they're using, you know, to make that determination. Dave, I appreciate the call. It is outrageous.

[00:27:25] And I would point out, the Democrats had a choice. Democrat voters in the primary had a choice of somebody other than Gary McFadden. And both of them, both of those other alternative candidates, were African Americans, too. Gina Hicks ran against him. And she got more votes than the third-place guy who... I'm not even sure what he was doing in the race, probably except to siphon votes away from her. I don't know.

[00:27:54] But she's, you know, black female. She ran the jail. And McFadden fired her. And then, of course, we saw the jail deaths go up. And Gaston County went and hired her up, like, almost immediately. So, Democrat voters in Mecklenburg County had a choice. And they chose Gary McFadden. And because of the demographics of Mecklenburg County, with more Democrat voters, they picked Gary McFadden yet again

[00:28:24] over any Republican. And, by the way, there's a very strong strain in the Democrat Party that agrees with McFadden. They don't want to deport anybody, even the criminals. So, I don't know any other way around it except to force them to do it and to cut any loophole that he is relying on and has been relying on in order to play a little clever by half with the state legislature

[00:28:53] and the federal government on this stuff. That's the only way. Close every single loophole and drag his ass, kicking and screaming, you know, to law enforcement. All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast. So, if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecalendorshow.com. Again, thank you so much for listening

[00:29:22] and don't break anything while I'm gone. Thank you.