Jailer accused of hindering arrest resigns

Pagliuca denies wrongdoing, attorney says

— A Hispanic radio personality has resigned her other job as a Washington County Detention Center officer after she was accused of lying to Springdale police.

Silvana Pagliuca faces a misdemeanor charge of hindering apprehension in Springdale District Court after she allegedly told police officers that a suspect they were looking for was not in her apartment. Her arraignment is set for Wednesday before Springdale District Judge Stanley Ludwig.

Defense attorney Mark Booher said Pagliuca denies any wrongdoing in this case. He had no further comment untilhe had an opportunity to review any video recordings that the police have of the incident. Pagliuca is an on-air personality for Springdale-based LA ZETA 95.7.

She was pulled over at her apartment complex by a Springdale police officer early in the morning of Sept. 2 for having one of her headlights out, according to the police report. A passenger in her car identified himself to police as Jorge Villalobos.

An officer who arrived as backup recognized the man from a previous traffic stop for driving while intoxicated, but the name was not the same, according to the report.

After the traffic stop, the two walked toward her apartment. The officer researched police records and determined that the man's real name was Alan Robles,who had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear on a second DWI offense, according to the report.

Springdale police then went to Pagliuca's residence and asked her if they could speak with "Jorge." She said that he was not there, but officers noticed a pause in her answer and that her voice cracked, the report states.

An officer then told her that they knew the man's real name and asked if they could come in and search for him. The report states that she said he had walked away.

She said that she did not want to let them in and she was sure they needed a warrant. Police then told her they would sit outside her apartment all night and wait for him to leave.

She went back inside, and Robles came outabout a minute later and surrendered to police, saying that he had given them a friend's name because he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, according to the report.

Robles told police he was going to Mexico that Friday to get a new identity, saying that he knew a guy there who could do this. He was placed into custody and transported to the county jail on preliminary charges of nonfinancial identity fraud and obstructing governmental operations.

Washington County Detention Maj. Randall Denzer said in an e-mail late Tuesday afternoon that Pagliuca had resigned earlier that day. He had said previously that she had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of the incident.

News, Pages 3 on 09/24/2009

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