A preliminary hearing has been rescheduled for a former Hailey woman who is accused of cheating six local Hispanics out of money.
Twenty-eight-year-old Raquel Martinez, who court records say now lives in Shoshone, has been charged with two felony counts of grand theft and four misdemeanor counts of petit theft for allegedly posing as a federal immigration employee to scam the alleged victims out of more than $7,000.
Martinez was arrested in Twin Falls on Nov. 28, 2006, following an investigation by Ketchum police officer Ken Martinez. She is currently free on $25,000 bond.
Her preliminary hearing, earlier set for Jan. 17, has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 9 a.m. before Blaine County Magistrate Court Judge R. Ted Israel. A preliminary hearing is a court procedure wherein a magistrate judge determines if sufficient evidence exists to order a defendant tried in district court.
Postponement of the hearing came at the request of public defender Dan Dolan, who is representing Raquel Martinez. According to court records, Dolan requested the continuance because the Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney's Office made a plea offer that needed to be reviewed. Terms of the offer were not available to the public.
According to an affidavit filed by officer Martinez, the defendant is accused of posing as a part-time federal Immigration and Naturalization Service employee while she worked as a receptionist at Thunder Spring in Ketchum. Raquel Martinez allegedly promised to help Hispanic workers obtain legal residency in the U.S. in exchange for them depositing money into her checking account.
The INS is now called Immigration and Customs Enforcement and uses the acronym ICE.
Raquel Martinez
