He's Been Jailed for More Than Two Years – but Even Prosecutors Would Tell You He Hasn't Committed a Crime

He's committed no crime. And yet, he's been behind bars for more than two years.

To be exact, it's been 898 days since Benito Vasquez-Hernandez has been a free man. And there's still no sign he'll be let go anytime soon. That's because Vasquez-Hernandez is a material witness in a murder case, The Oregonian reported.

Benito Vasquez Hernandez (Image source: Washington County Jail via the Oregonian)

Vasquez-Hernandez and his son, Moises Vasquez-Santiago, were arrested in 2012 after investigators were looking into the disappearance of Maria Bolanos-Rivera. Police believe Bolanos-Rivera was stabbed to death by Vasquez-Hernandez's eldest son and Vasquez-Santiago's brother, Eloy Vasquez-Santiago.

According to court documents, Moises told police that he saw blood in the minivan Eloy was driving and that his father had seen him hide a knife. In addition, Eloy told investigators the same year that he did, in fact, stab Bolanos-Rivera, but didn't tell them where he left her body.

"I can't let go of your family until I find the body, until I find the truth from you - all of the details. Because they're all witnesses that can tell me what you said to them," Detective Joe Ganete told The Oregonian.

But it's now been nearly three years and the father of the suspect remains in police custody at Washington County Jail. Moises Vasquez-Santiago was released last fall after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Vasquez-Santiago's lawyer said his 727-day imprisonment likely contributed to the diagnosis.

In September 2014, Vasquez-Hernandez delivered a statement in court. Before then, his attorney tried to get him to issue a sworn statement as part of a deposition, but the attorney said Vasquez-Hernandez either didn't want to or didn't understand what was happening. Vasquez-Hernandez is an immigrant with little knowledge of the American judicial system. He has no formal education and cannot read or write.

For those reasons, civil rights experts argue that Vasquez-Hernandez should be let go. But prosecutors say if they do free the witness, he wouldn't show up to testify, and that could hurt their case.

Imprisoning key witnesses is legal under Oregon law, although rarely are witnesses held for more than a week. According to The Oregonian, a legal expert only knew of one other instance similar to this one, which happened more than 100 years ago in California.

Washington County prosecutor Jeff Lesowski acknowledged that locking up witnesses for long is rare, telling the outlet, "We only ask for it in extraordinary situations."

A judge previously denied requests for Vasquez-Hernandez to be released. Instead, he set the bail at $500,000. At least $50,000 would need to be paid upfront for his immediate release.

You can read the full story by The Oregonian here.

(H/T: The Oregonian)

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