Harry Burkhart

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January 5, 2012 | 5:16 PM | By

Quote of the moment: On immigrant heroes and villains

Photo by charlesfettinger/Flickr (Creative Commons)

A post this morning addressed this week’s media coverage of key players in the Los Angeles arson drama: The suspected arsonist and his fraud suspect mother, both German nationals, and the man who nabbed him, a Sheriff’s Department reservist born in Iran.

Had the immigrant background of the hero, part-time deputy and full-time cop Shervin Lalezary, been swept under the rug, a post on the AlterNet site asked? And in reverse, had media coverage of the immigration status of suspects Harry Burkhart and his mother Dorothee, who is wanted for fraud in Germany (and also happens to be undocumented) been way overblown?

I explained some of the rationale behind covering the immigration aspect of the arson suspect’s story in the post, which has been making the rounds on Twitter. Then I saw this tweet from reader James Fujita @jim61773, which made me smile:

@Multi_American An interesting, important point, although my mind strayed to a fight between immigrants Superman and Dr. Doom.

Brilliant. Doctor Doom is, of course, Victor von Doom, the foreign-villain Cold War product of Marvel Comics, enemy of the Fantastic Four and native/ruler of imaginary Latveria. Superman, meanwhile, a native of the planet Krypton, has been referred to as “America’s ultimate illegal immigrant.“ He had U.S. citizenship at one point, but this year announced plans to renounce it.

But back to the point made: The Burkhart story had an immigration component from the get-go, with early news reports incorrectly describing an angry outburst by the suspect in immigration court over his mother’s pending deportation, leading an official who saw the outburst to recognize him in a surveillance video. This turned out to be federal court, and the mother turned out not to be a deportee, but a wanted fugitive in Germany who now faces extradition.

That said, do media reports overblow immigration status when a suspect is a non-citizen, or underplay the stories of immigrants who are successful or perform good deeds? Any thoughts?

FILED UNDER: Doctor Doom, Dorothee Burkhart, Harry Burkhart, Hollywood arson, L.A. arson, L.A. arsonist, Shervin Lalezary, Superman
January 5, 2012 | 10:55 AM | By

When the hero is an immigrant – and the suspect is foreign-born, too

Photo by David McNew/Getty Images

Los Angeles County Reserve Deputy Sheriff Shervin Lalezary, center, at a Jan. 2 press conference with Sheriff Lee Baca, left, and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

A short piece that appeared on AlterNet made an interesting point about how media handled the story of Shervin Lalezary, the attorney and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s reservist who made the traffic stop that netted suspected mass arsonist Harry Burkhart on Monday.

Both men are foreign-born. Lalezary was born in Iran and is an immigrant to the United States. Burkhart is a German national reportedly born in Chechnya. He had spent some time living in the U.S., although he held a non-immigrant visa. His mother Dorothee Burkhart, who became part of the story as she went to court Tuesday on fraud charges and faces extradition to Germany, is undocumented. It’s unclear how long she had been living here without a visa.

Why, Maurice Belanger asks in the AlterNet post, was so much made of the Burkharts’ immigration status, while there was little mention of Lalezary’s immigrant background? He writes:

In fact, few if any media outlets refer to Mr. Lalezary as an immigrant, much less a heroic immigrant who saved Los Angeles from additional damage.

Where media treat the arson suspect in an immigration-related framework, talking about their immigration status and her pending extradition, they bury the fact that the good guy in this story is an immigrant. Most don’t even use the term.

Over the past few days, Lalezary’s background has been reported in some news outlets and blogs (including this blog and also LA Observed, but it’s true that most mentions of his ethnicity have been passing ones. As for the focus on Burkhart and immigration, this partly stemmed from early news reports – which were incorrect – that he’d had an angry outburst in immigration court over his mother’s pending deportation.

As an immigration reporter who has been covering the increase in deportations and divided families, the notion that the son of a potential deportee might have snapped grabbed my attention, as it did that of other reporters. Later on, when it became clear that the elder Burkhart had appeared not in immigration court, but in federal court related to fraud charges in Germany -and that her arrest might have prompted her son’s anger – it became a matter of setting the record straight.

Perhaps most importantly, as typically happens in stories like these, reporting on the suspect took priority. That said, the point made is good food for thought.

As for the story of Mr. Lalezary, it’s a fascinating one that shouldn’t be ignored: Lalezary, who is 30, was born in Tehran and arrived as a young child in the United States with his family. He holds a law degree from USC. He hadn’t been volunteering as a reservist long, with his third solo shift Jan. 2. What does he earn from this potentially dangerous part-time gig? A dollar a year. He told the Washington Post: “I can tell you this is a lot more exciting than my day job.”

And yes, he’s a 1.5 generation immigrant.

FILED UNDER: Dorothee Burkhart, Harry Burkhart, Hollywood arson, L.A. arson, L.A. arsonist, Shervin Lalezary
January 3, 2012 | 4:52 PM | By

ICE issues immigration detainers for L.A. arson suspect Burkhart and his mother

Not only was the mother of Los Angeles arson suspect Harry Burkhart not in deportation proceedings, but it seems immigration authorities until recently had no record of her being in the United States since her last recorded exit almost five years ago.

According to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement statement released late this afternoon, 24-year-old Harry Burkhart was in the country legally on a visa. But his mother, considered a fugitive from Germany and facing extradition, was not. From the ICE statement:

At the time of his arrest, Harry Burkhart was in the country lawfully on a non-immigrant visa, which expires Jan. 18.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged an immigration detainer against Mr. Burkhart, indicating ICE will seek to take him into custody upon his release by local authorities to pursue any appropriate follow-up immigration enforcement action.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) records indicate his mother, Dorothee Burkhart, currently has no lawful immigration status.

According to DHS databases, Ms. Burkhart last entered the United States lawfully in January 2007 and departed the country four months later. Given Ms. Burkhart’s lack of status, ICE has also lodged an immigration detainer against her.

ICE also noted that the information contained in a federal complaint against the elder Burkhart, arrested last week on a provisional warrant related to fraud charges in her native Germany, was incorrect. The complaint states that Dorothee Burkhart flew from Frankfurt to Las Vegas in October; according to ICE, this flight information pertained to her son.

It’s assumed that the elder Burkhart may have re-entered the country unlawfully, according to ICE. It was initially reported, incorrectly, that she’d been in deportation proceedings.

Dorothee Burkhart appeared in federal court this afternoon. Her son has been arrested on suspicion of starting more than 50 arson fires over the weekend.

FILED UNDER: Dorothee Burkhart, Harry Burkhart, Hollywood arson, L.A. arson
January 3, 2012 | 3:09 PM | By

Definitely not a deportation case: Complaint lists allegations against L.A. arson suspect’s mom

The federal complaint against Dorothee Burkhart, the mother of suspected arsonist Harry Burkhart, is rather a lengthy list of fraud accusations from Germany.

It had been reported yesterday and earlier today that she faced deportation, and that her 24-year-old son, who is suspected of setting more than 50 fires over the holiday weekend, most of them in the Hollywood area, had an angry outburst in immigration court at her hearing. Not so.

The elder Burkhart, a German citizen who faces extradition to her native country and is being considered a fugitive, appeared in federal court today in Los Angeles, where she was arrested last week. Charged with 19 counts of fraud, she is accused of bilking a long string of renters and, in addition, the plastic surgeon who performed her breast augmentation in 2004.

The complaint goes on to read that Dorothee Burkhart is believed to have lived with her son in Hollywood, but that she flew from Frankfurt to Las Vegas in October, accompanying him to the German consulate in Los Angeles Oct. 26 to renew his passport.

Immigration officials have yet to release any information pertaining to Harry Burkhart following his arrest. Check KPCC’s website for forthcoming details from Dorothee Burkhart’s hearing today.

FILED UNDER: Dorothee Burkhart, Harry Burkhart, Hollywood arson, L.A. arson
January 3, 2012 | 12:02 PM | By

L.A. arson suspect’s mother not a deportee – she faces criminal charges, possible extradition

UPDATED: According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Dorothee Burkhart was arrested in Los Angeles last Wednesday “pursuant to the issuance of a provisional arrest warrant, which seeks her extradition to the Republic of Germany, where she faces numerous counts of fraud.” The warrant was issued Dec. 19.

The Los Angeles arson suspect who reportedly caused a scene at his German mother’s hearing didn’t do so in immigration court over a pending deportation, as has been reported, but in federal court last week over his mother’s possible extradition to Germany on criminal charges.

According to spokesman Thom Mrozek of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, the mother of 24-year-old Harry Burkhart, suspected of setting close more than 50 arson fires over the weekend, was arrested last week in Los Angeles on a provisional warrant related to a criminal case in Germany. He couldn’t elaborate on the charges against the elder Burkhart, only to say that it’s technically not an extradition yet, but that a provisional arrest warrant is typically the first step in an extradition case.

It was at Dorothee Burkhart’s first federal court hearing last Thursday afternoon that a man – possibly her son – reportedly became angry and caused a scene, which in turn eventually led to someone who had been in the courtroom identifying him on a surveillance video. “There was an outburst by a male individual at Ms. Burkhart’s first court appearance this Thursday,” Mrozek said, though it’s still not confirmed that this was the arson suspect.

Dorothee Burkhart, who also apparently had ties to a Los Angeles “tantra massage” website, is scheduled to appear in federal court again this afternoon. Immigration authorities have yet to release details about the younger Burkhart, who is a German national.

FILED UNDER: Dorothee Burkhart, Harry Burkhart, Hollywood arson, L.A. arson, U.S. Attorney's Office, U.S. Marshals Service