A Filipino-American woman, facing charges of murder and robbery in Las Vegas, will remain in the Bureau of Immigration (BI) jail until she is deported back to the United States.
In a statement, BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said he issued a mission order for the arrest of Lilani Montealegre Tomines when the US Embassy requested the agency’s assistance.
He said that Tomines would stand trial before a court in Las Vegas, Nevada, that issued an arrest warrant against her based on the charges of conspiracy to commit robbery, murder, burglary, and use of a deadly weapon.
Apart from these charges, the US District Court in Nevada also issued a separate case against her for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Libanan said BI agents tracked Tomines to her house on Kennon Road in Baguio City last Oct. 10. It appeared that Tomines has been hiding in the country since May last year when she arrived in Manila on a one-year balikbayan visa. But she failed to secure an extension visa, thus making her an overstaying alien. – Evelyn Macairan