Colotl requests jury trial on traffic citations

By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jessica Colotl, the Kennesaw State University student and illegal immigrant whose case has drawn national attention, has requested a jury trial on the two traffic citations that led authorities to discover her illegal status.

Colotl, 21, is now scheduled to be arraigned July 2 in Cobb County State Court, Cobb Solicitor General Barry Morgan told the AJC on Thursday. Her attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

Colotl was stopped by a police officer March 29 and charged with impeding traffic and driving without a license. The fine for impeding traffic is $111,  Morgan said. He said first-time offenders convicted of driving without a license typically receive two days in custody and a $700 fine.

After the traffic stop, Cobb deputies handed her to federal immigration agents, who took her to an Alabama detention center. Immigration authorities released her May 1 and said she could stay in the country until she finishes school next year.

But Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren had her arrested days later. She was accused of giving an incorrect address to deputies when she was booked into jail and charged with making false statements, a felony.

District Attorney Pat Head just received that case from Magistrate Court, and it will be reviewed by a prosecutor, according to Head's office.