A man charged with an attack on an Ottawa bicyclist two weeks ago is still being held in the Anderson County Jail after his bond was reduced at a hearing Tuesday, October 22nd, in District Court. Anderson County Sheriff Vern Valentine says a traditional jail bond has little effect in the case of a detained illegal immigrant subject to a “hold” from U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement , since the federal hold order would mandate the individual’s detention for 48 hours before any local jurisdiction release.
The hold order allows time for ICE agents to take the individual into federal custody for deportation. The court reduced the bond amount for 33 year old Porfirio de la Cruz-Cantu, from $250,000 to $150,000. Cruz-Cantu is charged with an attack on a 64-year-old female bicyclist from Ottawa on October 10th, south of Scipio on the Prairie Spirit Trail. The woman told officers the man attacked her and wrestled her to the ground before she was able to fight him off and escape to a nearby home where a neighbor rendered aid and called 911. He was apprehended a short time later on 59 highway.
He faces charges of abuse of an elderly person, battery and criminal restraint. Though confirmed though photos and fingerprints as undocumented by ICE, he is known to have been a local resident and worked at a local restaurant in Garnett.
