Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008

Pasco father missing with daughter

Kristin M. Kraemer, Herald staff writer

A Tri-City father who picked up his 4-year-old daughter two weeks ago for an overnight stay is believed to have left town with the girl against court orders.

Jose "Joe" Roel Veliz Jr., 47, is wanted by Pasco police for violating a court-ordered parenting plan with his wife, Lorena.

He has been charged in Franklin County Superior Court with first-degree custodial interference, a felony.

Veliz, who lives in Pasco, is suspected of leaving the state with his daughter, possibly even taking her to Guadalajara, Mexico, according to court documents.

However, police say all of his family ties are in the Tri-Cities.

"We're looking for him but we're not quite sure where he's at right now, and we believe his daughter may be with him," said Pasco Capt. Jim Raymond. "We don't have any indication that he has (gone to Mexico). To be honest, we have no idea of where he is at."

A court order grants Veliz visitation with his daughter from "Saturday from 10 a.m. to Sunday at 5 p.m.," documents said. The girl's name was not released.

Veliz last was seen around 10 a.m. Aug. 16 when he picked up his daughter at the Pasco home of a woman, whose relationship to the Velizes is not known. Lorena Veliz reportedly watched from a window as Joe Veliz and the girl drove away in a silver 2007 Toyota Tundra.

Lorena Veliz returned to that same house at 5 p.m. the next day to make the exchange. She waited for an hour before calling police.

Officer Kevin Erickson spoke with Joe Veliz's lawyer and his parents, all of whom said they'd had no contact with him and didn't know his whereabouts, court documents said. His parents "had planned to report him as a missing person," documents said.

On Aug. 20, Lorena Veliz noticed she'd missed a 10 a.m. call on her cell phone. The number was from Guadalajara.

Two attorneys with Northwest Justice Project called the number "but could only hear voices in the background," court documents said. Those attorneys told police that Joe Veliz had been "behaving erratically" during a July 18 court hearing, documents said.

Lorena Veliz reported that her husband's best friend has family in Guadalajara and regularly sends money to them, though the Kennewick man denied it.

The Pasco Police Department has been in contact with Veliz in the past over domestic issues, but "nothing major," Raymond said.

Veliz already is familiar with the judicial system for taking money for legal services over nearly three years when he wasn't licensed as an attorney.

In November 2004, he entered an Alford plea to two gross misdemeanor counts for unlawful practice of law. The plea meant he denied committing the crime but believed prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail.