Orem • Alcides Souza said his eight years in Utah before June — two as an LDS missionary from Brazil and six as a student at LDS Business College and Brigham Young University — left him with a good impression of the state.
But a June 9 encounter with a self-described Orem activist who suspected Souza of being in the county illegally has left the student "looking over my shoulder" since then, he told Orem Justice Court Judge Reed Parkin on Monday.
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"It was a really sad day to me because of the color of my skin," said Souza, who is in the United States on a visa to study manufacturing and engineering at BYU.
The activist who chased him down, Mark Vreeland, pleaded no contest Monday to impersonating a police officer. Vreeland pursued Souza for allegedly running a stop sign and then questioned him about his immigration status, while wearing a cap with the words "Police" and "ICE" — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service — embroidered on the front.
Vreeland, 59, was scheduled for trial Feb. 21 on the class B misdemeanor. Now, his sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 27 in Orem Justice Court. He faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. (A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but the defendant offers no defense to the charge. It is considered a conviction on his record.)
Orem prosecutor Robert Church said he would seek jail time for Vreeland, based on Vreeland’s behavior and Souza’s statement.
Grant Nagamatsu, Vreeland’s court-appointed attorney, said he will argue mitigating circumstances.
Souza gave his victim’s impact statement Monday — after Vreeland entered his plea.
Souza worries he may encounter Vreeland again and that he and his family may be in danger. He also expressed concern that Vreeland may have done this before and that other victims may not have stepped forward because they were undocumented immigrants who did not want to expose themselves to the threat of deportation.
After the hearing, Vreeland dismissed Souza’s statement, claiming he had exaggerated their encounter.
"It’s a bunch of hooey," Vreeland said. "It doesn’t add up."
Vreeland said he asked Souza to step away from his own car and claimed to be a cop because he feared for his safety. That claim left the slightly built Souza incredulous.
Vreeland, Souza said, had pursued him, tailgating him and flashing his high beams. When he stopped at a friend’s house, Souza said Vreeland got out of his car, wearing the official-looking cap and started ordering him to put his hands up and step to the sidewalk.
Vreeland accused the prosecutor of pursuing the case because of news coverage.
Twitter: @donaldwmeyers
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