Cranston Police Nab Deported Felon, Notify ICE

CRANSTON, RI—Helpis Delacruz walked out of District Court on Wednesday released on personal recognizance in connection with an identity theft charge in Cranston. But ICE agents were waiting for him in the parking lot. They took him into custody and will charge him with a felony for coming back into the U.S. after he was deported, Cranston police said.

Delacruz, 44, of Haenes City, Florida, has numerous aliases, police said. He is also known as Gelpi Esteban De La Cruz, Gelpi Delacruz-Pimentel, Harvey Hernandez, and Harvey Varquez.

Cranston detectives pulled him over on Dyer Avenue around 12:39 p.m. Tuesday on suspicion of a narcotics offense. (The special investigations unit was conducting surveillance on Briggs Street when Delacruz drove his Toyota Sport Utility Vehicle into the area and picked up another person. They were followed until patrol officers stopped the car.) Police said Delacruz gave officers a Puerto Rico license and social and said his name was Orlando Gonzalez Soto. But the license came back with a different person's name.

Officers took him to the police department, where his fingerprints were used to identify him. The record also showed he had prior Rhode Island felony convictions and was supposed to have been deported.

"Detectives contacted ICE agents in Providence who confirmed that Delacruz had re-entered the United States after being deported to his native country of the Dominican Republic on May 20th, 1998 as a result of a criminal conviction for possession of cocaine," police said.

Police did not find any drugs during this arrest but did seize documents, including a Social Security Card, Puerto Rico Driver’s License, and credit cards in Soto's name. He was charged with one count of giving false documents to public official, one count of identity fraud, and obstructing an officer in execution of duty, police said.

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